gimme love.

“Raph and I have had some bad blood this semester, and though I’d love to absolutely burn all of his animal sweaters and perform a hex over them to give him the singing voice of a million cicadas...I decided to take the high road and, instead, give him a makeover since my entire sense of style has been demoted to the Target maternity clearance section. And this song seemed appropriate, given it’s still Broadway week.” 

Quinn and Raph go through Take it Like a Man, with Quinn having sabotaged his makeover outfit to be something she’s certain he’d look laughable in. But when Raphael emerges from his quick change, to her and everyone’s surprise, he looks...good and her plan is foiled. 

Josie: Unfortunately I was unable to attend the party this weekend since I now have to take three times the amount of dance and vocal lessons to match what my former teammates are getting in a single rehearsal. But based on Mr Schuester's assignment, I see I missed out on Quite the soiree. Did anything actually good happen or are New Directions still playing out dinner theater versions of Degrassi: The Next Generation?

“Oh, there too, mama.” He retorted, smiling despite the pain in his cheekbone. Everything was pretty shitty right now, but it felt nice to laugh, especially with Quinn. It wasn’t really something the two of them had ever done together, but maybe it was about time they started to get a little comfortable together. The thought of taking her out to dinner and spending any amount of the precious money he’d been saving had him a little on edge, but seeing as she was carrying his kid and he’d never even taken her on a date… it felt pretty justified. He’d just have to make sure he filled up on the free breadsticks. “Your dad’s going to murder me, isn’t he?” 

Quinn winced at first at the nickname, but it grew into a small, sad grin. Being called ‘mama’ was weird, but...something about it warmed her heart a little bit. If they did decide to keep this kid, she’d be dependent on them. She’d look up to them. She chuckled at his question and gave a shrug. “Maybe not straight-out homicide. Manslaughter, maybe,” she joked with a smirk. “Come on, I’ll treat. I got a bunch of birthday money from my church, and it’d be the ultimate Screw You to spend it on dinner with my wedlock baby daddy who also happens to be Jewish.” 

𝒲𝑒𝑒𝓀 𝟣𝟤: 𝒮𝒸𝒶𝓃𝒹𝒶𝓁

“Since people can’t seem to keep my business out of their mouths, I figured I’d take a cue from the queen herself. I guess it just goes to show that when people are wasting their breath talking about you, it must mean you’re on everyone’s minds.” 

Artie: Yo, you're at least higher than me. Honestly, this list is wack bc who would put the incest twins on the hot list and not you? And me.

Quinn: ONE SPOT higher, which is not a huge feat. No offense.

Puck gave Quinn’s shoulder a gentle squeeze before pulling back, letting a quiet breath out into the awkward air between them as he thought over her request. “Day by day,” he repeated gently, nodding in confirmation. It wasn’t ideal, but… better than a definite no, at least. “Just- if you… you know. You want to talk about it… you can like… do that.” Conversations about anything serious had never been easy for him, and clearly, they weren’t about to start coming naturally any time soon. Desperately seeking a change from the tension so thick he felt like he was drowning, Puck looked Quinn up and down, bumping his shoulder against hers as he brought his lips up into a smirk, mostly just teasing as he he asked, “So… any chance you’re in the mood for a rebound? Not like you have to worry about getting knocked up, right?” 

Quinn pouted a little, and quirked up her mouth before nodding. “Yeah. Thanks. A lot more talking, a lot less yelling...Got it,” she teased in a deadpan tone. She sucked in a breath, anticipating the change in tone of their conversation. They’d gone through the tough parts -- the apologies, the tears, the admitting that they’re gonna have to rely on each other if they’re going to survive this...Now it was time to go back to their regular selves. Well, as regular as they could be with a baby on the way. When Puck cracked his joke, Quinn couldn’t help but let a laugh escape her lips before she rolled her eyes and hit him on the bicep. “In your pregnancy fetish dreams, Puckerman,” she chuckled, finally pushing off of the wall. Though, his joke did pose an interesting dilemma -- her parents probably would expect her to be at least involved with the father of her child. She pushed the thought out of her mind immediately and turned to him. “Come on, we’re going to Breadstix. I’d prefer to be in a carb-coma when we break this news to my parents.” 

Jessie: Yes, I'm well aware. However, as an expectant mother, you should be above all the nonsense. This is an anonymous individual. It could be someone from Glee or it could be a random person who just wanted to cause strife. You're basically giving them exactly what they clearly wanted.

Jessie: That's actually incredibly sad. Noah or Puck, as he prefers to be called is taking odd jobs to support you. He's taking on the brunt of the blame for a mutual decision and here you are talking about milking the high school stuff. Honestly, he deserves better.

Jessie: I'm someone who takes A Capella very seriously and now understands why you all have failed on a consistent basis. Well, except for your pathetic showing at sectionals (Your competition was a joke). Minus Blaine's solo, of course. That is how I can pass judgment.

Quinn: And as a Vocal Adrenaline show pony, you should know when to shut up, smile, and sing.I have 10,000 people telling me what to do right now -- counselors, doctors, Puck's mom, my parents...I don't need some newbie know-it-all thinking she knows what's best for me, too.

Quinn: Who people choose to blame is not my fault. I've already apologized to him. And he and I aren't together, so if he deserves better than me, he can go get it. I'm not stopping him.

Kitty: Um maybe the fact that you directly told me that ~disgusting~ story about Finn impregnating you with jockstrap hands? Clearly idolatry has made me stupid.

Jessie: I know I'm knew to your group text thread, but I honestly don't see the problem. It's a worthless list; one person's opinion. One person who clearly has far too much time on their hands.

Jessie: Besides, don't you have more important things to focus on and worry about? Like the fact you're going to become a mother.

Quinn: One person can influence the opinion of hundreds -- I would know. Before you showed up here, I ran this school. And if I made that list, people would be hanging on my every word because what I said mattered. It's way more than a list, it's the new social order.

Kitty: Speaking from my spot of just above Roderick, maybe fakeness makes you ugly? No one cares about your chest when you're a recently outed harlot.

𝒲𝑒𝑒𝓀 𝟣𝟣: 𝒯𝒾𝓀𝓉𝑜𝓀

“Obviously, this week has been Hell for me. For us,” she gestures to Puck. “I got kicked out of my home, I might never speak to my parents again...But there’s one thing getting me out of the bed that I now have in Puck’s guest room in the morning. And that’s my baby. It’s a girl, if you didn’t know.” 

Puck plays guitar as Quinn begins to serenade her fetus, and hints of their new weird domestic life in his baconless home are peppered in with overlays of coffee by beabadobee. It’s soft, it’s sweet, it’s the best they can come up with while being McKinley’s scarlet letter pair, essentially. 

Whoa. Quinn’s tears took him a little - or a lot - off guard. He’d never seen her cry before, he kind of thought she was too much of an ice queen for that kind of thing. Puck wasn’t entirely sure if comforting her was something she’d appreciate, but, if not him… who else? It wasn’t like Finn would. So, after a moment of hesitation, he stepped in and slowly wrapped his arm over her shoulder, in an awkward, half hug. Soothing others wasn’t exactly something he was used to. He was going to have to get some practice, though, if being a dad was in his future. Hopefully, not the kind that would pull a shotgun out on the baby daddy of his kid. Then again… if anyone tried to bring any sort of stress to his own daughter’s life, he wasn’t so sure he’d let them walk away unscathed either. And he still hadn’t even met the kid yet. Though now… it was kind of starting to sound like he might not get the chance to. He hadn’t even fully considered the possibility of Quinn giving her away, he’d been so focused on the anger he felt about possibly having to watch Finn play his part in their family instead. But some stranger raising her seemed so much worse. His heart sunk at the thought, but he knew it couldn’t be up to him. If Quinn didn’t want to keep her… it wasn’t fair of him to push her into it. He’d just have to do his best to show her that he could be a good dad, and also figure out some way to financially support them, in the few months they had left before their baby’s birth. Even if it meant selling every single one of the small number of possessions he had to his name. “Maybe. Is that… what you want?” 

Quinn melted into his embrace despite its half-assedness, This was her first guilt-free hug in months. She weighed their options in her mind, instantly being overwhelmed with future thoughts. What if they kept it? It’d certainly take up a huge chunk out of her senior year. She’d have to be in a family with Noah Puckerman...Be the laughing stock of the school even more than she was now, and there wasn’t even an MTV reality show that might lighten the load off of teen mothers anymore. Or they could give it up, make some other people happy while the two of them had to go on with their lives as if a piece of them wasn’t somewhere else, away from them, potentially never knowing who either of them was...It was a double-edged sword. “I don’t know,” Quinn said honestly. “We’ve still got four months to go. Can we take it day by day?” Negotiating with Noah on the state of the thing growing inside of her uterus was certainly not on her junior year agenda. Though, of course, neither was getting pregnant at all, or getting kicked off of the Cheerios, or lying to her parents for months...Things were changing. And though the change was scary, it was also the only thing keeping her going. 

The only one who’s ruining anyone’s life is you, Quinn. I didn’t force you to have intercourse with Puck. I didn’t force you to lie to Finn. I’m the only one who was being honest, and you have to suffer the consequences of not being honest. You don’t think that if Finn joined you for any of your appointments, that they wouldn’t have told her the truth? I didn’t ruin you, you did.  Also, if you need any assistance, my dad would be more than happy to help. He is a doctor, so you know.

None of this was your business, troll. Don’t pretend like you did this for the good of me, or my baby, or Puck, or because you really care about anything but making us look bad so Finn will fall into your oh-so righteous arms. Good on you, Prince Charming. When do you turn back into a frog? 

Puck glanced over at Quinn, unusually quiet as he listened to her. Actually listened, not just let his mind wander after a few seconds to focus on checking her out instead, like he typically did in conversations with hot girls. “Should I…” Licking his lips, he moved in closer to her as he trailed off, already regretting this suggestion, but knowing it was probably the right thing to do. And he was so damn sick of doing the wrong one. “Do you want me to come with you? To tell them?” Speaking of… he should probably start thinking about telling his own mom. He’d been putting it off, considering that Quinn hadn’t wanted him to be involved, but if he was now going to be, at least while she was carrying the kid… it’d probably be a good idea. Quiinn’s question made him pause once again as he considered it, but realized he didn’t have an answer for her. Not just yet, anyway. “I don’t think I really know what a normal life is.”  

When Puck offered to come with her to tell her parents, the flood gates opened. Quinn let a sob rip through her and the tears flow as she nodded. “I’d like that,” she was able to utter. She didn’t even stop to think that after she’d messed up this royally that she’d deserve someone to think of her and how alone she was feeling. And she’d underestimated Puck -- she didn’t think he’d step up, and here he was. She sucked in a shaky breath and calmed herself down. “My dad might pull out his shotgun, but he’d never shoot it, it’s just there for show,” Quinn assured Puck as she moved closer to him. “You’re right, though. You’re a jock whose penis decides what he eats for breakfast, and I’m a bisexual Christian whose insecurity and jealousy problems got us into this mess in the first place. Neither of us really know what normal is, but...maybe this is our chance to start trying?”