AN: Yes, so here I am yet again with another little somethin' somethin' that would not leave me alone until I gave in and started writing it down on paper. Somehow my favorite Aqualung song - Strange and Beautiful (from where the title came from) and a revist of old Glee episodes (no doubt due to the unfortunate passing of our Cory; it still feels like it hasn't completely sunk in yet) has spawned this little ditty.

It's random, just as all my other stories are, but not a oneshot, maybe...a three or fourshot? Really depends on how long I make the chapters (and if I get some feedback or not).

Set during Glee's S2 Finale episode 'New York'.

Anyways, read. enjoy. review!

New York City is - as everyone says - unlike any other place in the world.

But while 'the city that never sleeps' has been defined as the cultural capital of the world, Gale knew right off the bat that this place was not for him.

In all his life, he had never seen so many people in one place before, nor had he seen so many towering buildings that could make him feel an inch tall. It was like being on a whole different planet. The people, the traffic, all the constant movement practically had his head spinning. A feeling he would no doubt get over if he chose to go to school here but still… This place was just not his cup of tea. Plain and simple.

Lifting his gaze to admire the green above him, he continues his stroll through the one place he really liked. Central Park. It was huge and one could easily get lost if they didn't know where they were going, kind of like the woods back home. He actually felt like he could breathe here - the rest of the city having left him feeling confined.

"Other cities always make me mad

Other places always me sad

No other city ever made me glad

Except New York, New York!"

Frowning deeply as his ears picked up on the music, he turns his head. His eyebrows automatically lift in confusion as a colorful group of teenagers frolick through the park, singing as they went. It was a strange enough sight to make him stop and watch, while the few around him continued about their business without so much as a second glance.

Maybe they were a part of a performing troupe that did it for money or something, like those musicians on the street corners.

He follows each of them with his eyes, watching one by one as their figures retreated into the distance, the music carrying off with them. He shakes his head at the sight, then lets his gaze linger on the last member of the group, a blonde wearing a neon orange jacket, who had fallen - or chosen to stay - behind.

He watches the girl closely, intrigued by her. He figures its her beauty that piques his curiosity - after all what else does he have to go on, really, it's not like he knows her - but the longer he stares at her, the more he feels like there was something else to it. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

He automatically shakes the thought off as nothing, as it probably is just that - nothing. And as he refocuses his attention, he's startled to find the girl he had been watching now staring directly at him. He blinks for a second, absolutely dumbstruck by those surprisingly haunting green eyes. Another moment passes and he realizes he should probably (try to) smile or drop his eyes or do something, anything, but he's at a standstill.

He doesn't know why - it isn't like he's a stranger to pretty girls staring at him - but he is.

She gives him a faint smile, albeit a wary expression, before turning and continuing in following the path her friends had just taken, but at her own leisurely pace. Eventually though she picks up her pace when she notices another girl, this one wearing yellow and green, looking ticked off as she waited (impatiently) for her to catch up.

When the two girls are out of sight, he turns back around and stalks off in the opposite direction, all the while wondering in the back of his mind if he'll be lucky enough to ever see her again.

He highly doubts he will, but that doesn't keep his thoughts from lingering on her.

Quinn knows she should be happy.

She was in New York City after all, far from Lima - though still unfortunately close to Finn and Rachel but whatever - along with her closest friends (she calls them that despite questioning whether or not it's the appropriate term - she isn't exactly what you'd call close with any of them really).

And while she wants to be happy, she can't help but feel like happiness is so damn far out of her reach right now that she shouldn't even bother trying to achieve it. Cause really what good would it do? All she ever did was fail. She failed as a Cheerio. She failed as girlfriend (all times). She failed as a prom queen. Failed both as a daughter and as a mother.

Failure was practically her middle name.

And in a couple days she was going to be even more of a failure - though at least that one would entirely be Mr. Schuester's fault. Sometimes she really questions the man's optimism. Did he honestly believe the New Directions could just come to New York with no songs or choreography prepared prior and win first place at Nationals, just like that?

She might not know a lot about show choir, but she did know a thing or two about winning - from Cheerios - and anyone with common sense would know that you don't win a national title by waiting until the very last minute to organize a routine. Sure Mr. Schuester had only been running glee club for two years, but one would think he would know better.

Apparently not because here they all were, just days away from competition, with no set list, no choreography, no anything. They don't even have their teacher with them (where is he anyways?). She would be beyond surprised if they made in the top ten, let alone actually win.

"…Pick up a date, maybe seven or eight

Paris and London, oh baby you can keep

Baby you can keep

Baby you can keep…"

As the others launch into another chorus of their little mash-up, "I Love New York/New York, New York", she glances around at her surroundings, doing her best to keep up with their gallivanting antics while at the same time trying to actually take in the sights.

She knows it had been her idea to leave the hotel, but she hadn't exactly meant that they go out and run about the city singing about how much they loved New York. They probably looked like absolute idiots to the locals, and pathetic to the fellow tourists, but whatever. It was proving to be a good distraction and she was just glad to get out of that damn hotel - which did absolutely nothing to help her claustrophobia by the way - and get in as much fresh air as she could before they went back to their hatbox of a room.

It's when they're in Central Park that she really starts to lag behind everyone else, it being the one place she had really wanted to see at least once before they left for home. Her eyes fit over the overwhelming expanse of greenery with a small relaxed sigh, the others having already continued on without her. In the back of her mind she knows she probably shouldn't let them go off without her - she hadn't exactly been paying attention to the route they had taken from the hotel - but she's too awestruck by the beauty around her to really care.

She hadn't even realized someone was watching her until she locked eyes with the young man who - for all she knew - had been staring at her this entire time. She blinks in surprise, then unconsciously grazes over him, taking in his appearance a little. He was certainly quite handsome, what with his dark hair, strong jaw, and intense grey eyes.

She manages a faint smile geared toward him, though still silently wondering why the hell he was doing staring at her. Sure he was rugged (cute seemed like too weak an adjective), and his staring wasn't exactly all that unwanted but that didn't mean he couldn't be like, a rapist or serial killer or something.

Shaking her head at the thought, she turns back around and keeps walking. Halfway down the path she notices Santana waiting down by the end, arms crossed and foot tapping with her usual impatience.

She's both surprised and grateful that the Latina had bothered to wait for her and immediately picks up her pace. As they walk away together she surpasses the urge to steal another glance over her shoulder and see if the guy was still staring.

She kind of has the feeling he is. And for some reason that doesn't bother her as much as it probably should.

As she predicted, they don't win nationals.

They don't even place. They gave it their all - she knows she sure as hell did, even if she didn't really care about a show choir competition, a Fabray never did anything half-assed - but Finn and Rachel's little public display of affection proved to be the group's kiss of death.

A fact that caused Santana to all but lose her mind. She still could hear the Latina cursing out their teammates in the other room, her empty threats reverberating off the thin walls and no doubt annoying the hell out of the other guests on their floor.

Having long given up on trying to calm - not to mention restrain - Santana, she maneuvers around the unoccupied girl's room, quickly stuffing her things into her suitcase, eager to get her packing done before the others return. Her body's sore, both from nationals and from Santana's recent assault (she doesn't even know why bothered to help the others restrain the girl. She knows better not to and it's not like she cares about Rachel's well being or anything).

She should have just Santana beat the shit out of Rachel like she wanted. It would have been the simpler, and less physically taxing, route for sure. Probably more entertaining too.

She absentmindedly runs her fingers through her now shorter hair - contrary to Santana's belief, getting a haircut hadn't made her feel better - once her packing was finished. It had been a long day and she really wanted nothing more than to go to bed early, but with the way Santana was going at it in the other room, and since she didn't sound like she would be stopping anytime soon, Quinn found it unlikely that that would happen.

Without a second thought she reaches for her purse and her room key card. She figures she might as well go down to the lobby - or hell maybe even outside - and wait out the storm known as Hurricane Santana there. God only knows she doesn't want to spend anymore time in this hotel room than she has to.

Fortunately she's able to make it out of the hallway and down to the lobby unseen. She knows she might be pushing her luck by leaving the hotel, but can't really bring herself to care. Why should Kurt and Rachel be the only ones who get to venture off on their own?

As soon as she's out of the hotel, she automatically tries not to feel too intimidated by how different New York looks at night. She shoves her hands in her jacket pockets and starts walking. She knows she's out of her element but she can't will herself to turn back. At least not before she makes it around the corner.

Which she doesn't even get to before crashing straight into someone's chest.

She stumbles backwards, like she had just walked into a wall, and blinks heavily as two arms cautiously grab either side of her arms. "Sorry," she quickly apologies, taking a sudden step back as the arms drop. She lifts her gaze and her eyes automatically widen in surprise. "You."

What were the odds that she would bump into the same guy she had caught staring at her back in Central Park a few days ago?

The guy in question quirks a confused brow at her. "Me?"

She nods. "I saw you at Central Park a few days ago." He towered over her so she had to crane her neck back a little. "You were…staring at me."

His eyes narrow and she wonders if it's the short hair that has him stumped or just the fact that he doesn't remember her. She figures it's the latter considering how many people there are in this city and how many of them he must have seen from then until now.

"You were the one in the orange, running around and singing with those kids." he remembers.

"Uh, yeah." She could feel her cheeks flush with embarrassment at the reminder. "That was me."

He nods and a quiet moment hangs in the air between them. She opens her mouth, intending on saying something along the lines of "Well nice bumping into you, bye" to get out of this awkward lapse of silence, but he's unceremoniously bumped into by a rather large man passing them in that moment and when he starts shaking his head in contempt, and swearing, she instead asks, "You're not from around here, are you?"

"Is it that obvious?" His gaze falls back to her, the grimace still etched across his face.

"Don't worry," she says with surprising kindness, despite knowing this guy could very well be stalking her. "I'm not from around here either." She surprises herself further by taking her hand out of her pocket and offering it to him, "Ohio." Since when is she nice to strange guys?

His mouth quirks into something like a smile, except that there was no warmth to it. "Tennessee." he replies as their hands shake.

"So Tennessee," she breathes when their hands drop. Her head cocks to the side as she looks up at him, eyes playfully narrowed. "are you stalking me?"

She catches the flicker of amusement in his eyes before he nods his head in all seriousness, his expression unwavering as he spoke. "Yes."

Knowing that a true stalker would never admit to stalking, she allows herself to smile and nod in return. "I've never had my own stalker before," she begins, partially impressed that he was able to keep up the reserved expression without cracking. "You do this with a lot of girls?"

"As many as I can." he responds, the smile evident in his voice but not on his face. "So, Ohio," After a quick glance at their surroundings he refocuses his attention on her, the look on his face less rigid. "where you headed?"

His gaze rakes over her, his blue-grey eyes startling under dark lashes.

"I don't know actually." she confesses, turning her head with a shrug. "I'm technically not even supposed to be out here." She gestures to the hotel behind them with a heavy grimace.

"Parents?" he guesses, to which she shakes her head at.

"Teacher. I'm on a school trip." She doesn't dare tell him its for a show choir competition. She was pretty sure that, even outside Ohio, glee club was considered beyond lame and she really doesn't feel like being made fun of for it right now.

"Well aren't you the little rebel? Sneaking out." She smiles a little when she meets his gaze again, only to find him shaking his head in mock disapproval at her. "I don't know if I should be stalking such a bad egg like you anymore, you might rub off on me."

"You know, it astonishes me how much you look like a normal person."

He gives a soft snort that she realizes is actually a laugh. "I could say the same to you, Ohio." he retorts. She merely rolls her eyes in response.

He gives her a sidelong glance - one she clearly notices - before speaking up again. "You want to get some pizza?" he asks, genuinely surprising her. "I know of a place not too far from here that's pretty damn good."

She purses her lips together. She doesn't hate the idea, but she really doesn't want to lead him. After two failed relationships back to back she neither had the desire nor the self-esteem to jump into another one so soon.

But then again maybe she was just reading too much this and his offer was as innocent as it sounded and he just wants to have some pizza with a fellow non-New Yorker. It would give her something to do, not to mention she would get to see some more of the city in the process (hopefully without getting lost).

She probably shouldn't be so trusting of a guy she hardly knows but she's uncomfortable with the idea of venturing out on her own - she'll admit to it - and she's certainly not about to go back to the hotel.

"Okay, I'm in." she finally says, to which he nods and begins leading her in the initial direction she had been going and he had come from. "After all what would a trip to New York be without trying some authentic New York pizza?"

"Exactly."

Together they walk, talking casually on the way and sometimes falling into a comfortable silence, too distracted by their own awe of the city. In the back of her mind she thinks of how nice it was to be talking to someone who wasn't in the New Directions, who didn't go to McKinley, or who had any ties to the state of Ohio whatsoever.

It makes her that more desperate for graduation. For change.

The pizza is by far the best she's ever had.

As soon as she finishes her half - they shared a large Canadian bacon and pineapple after discovering their mutual preference - she knows right away that she will never be able to eat another slice from Domino's again, nor will she be able to live without New York pizza (she saved the pizzeria's takeout menu so she'll have the contact information she needs for when she returns - which she will).

"When do you leave, Ohio?" he questions, breaking the temporary lull between them. They're near the hotel she realizes, she can see it in the distance. She's surprised that he actually remembered how to get back there, cause she sure as hell didn't.

"Tomorrow morning." she replies with a small sigh, her hand reaching into her pocket for her phone. Halfway into their pizza her phone received an overwhelming number of text messages - all from various members of the glee club who were freaking out over her absence.

It had taken them long enough to notice.

And while she had ignored almost all of them, she did reply to Santana's text(s), informing the Latina that she would be back at the hotel in a little while and that a search party (Rachel's idea) was completely unnecessary.

She mentally sighs in relief when she checks her phone and sees that she has no new text messages. After the first dozen messages she had silenced her phone, the constant beeping quickly annoying the hell out of her.

"What about you, Tennessee?" she wonders, pocketing her phone as she reverts her gaze. They both know each other's true name now - his is Gale - but stick to the nicknames, frankly because it's more fun that way.

And if there's anything she could do more with in her life, it was fun.

"I was thinking tonight." he responds, flicking the toothpick he'd gotten from the restaurant into a nearby trash can.

She nods, knowing that he was only in New York as part of his college road trip, where he checked out a few of the schools - in various states outside, yet not too far from, Tennessee - he had interests in. And since he had already checked out NYU, nothing else was really keeping him here….except maybe the pizza (or so he says).

It had her thinking that maybe she should do the same - go check out prospective colleges - after all she had no better plans for summer, but it wasn't exactly the kind of thing she would want to do alone.

It was times like this where she kind of wished she had real friends.

"Want to join me?" Gale suddenly asks, effectively yanking her out of her friendless thoughts.

Her head snaps towards him, having heard what he said but confused as to what context it had risen from. Surely she had missed something and he really wasn't asking what she thinks he's asking. "Excuse me?"

"You're going home tomorrow anyways. I'm driving back to Tennessee, it's not like Ohio's that out of my way. It'll take a couple hours longer to get there than it would by plane but…" he gives an offhanded shrug, his words fading into the distance. He turns to her as if to say, 'What do you think?'

She thinks he might be kookier than she initially thought.

"Why?"

"Why not?"

"Because," she begins cautiously, "You don't just offer to drive someone you barely even know all the way to Ohio. I could…I could be a serial killer for all you know!" She scowls when he has the audacity to laugh at her. Like she's the one being ridiculous.

He's the one who just offered to take a relative stranger to Ohio. She internally scoffs. The very idea! It was one thing to go out for pizza, a whole other to jump in his car and drive off together.

She may be a small town girl, but she's not that naïve.

"Are you?" Gale questions, sounding as though he would be highly amused if she said she were -a serial killer that is.

"Of course not." she snaps. If anyone was a serial killer it was him. And even if she actually agreed to go along with him, with her luck, he would probably end up murdering her then throwing her remains into a ditch to rot.

Yeah, no thank you.

"Even if you end up annoying the hell out of me, I promise I won't just ditch you somewhere." he assures, that amused grin still gracing his features.

"Why would you even want to go anywhere with me?" As soon as the words leave her mouth, it hits her. Why would a guy like him do anything when it comes to girls? She inwardly groaned, suddenly feeling like a total idiot. How could she not have caught on sooner?

"Oh I get it." she starts, more to herself than to him. "You just want me to sleep with you." She shakes her head in contempt and ignores the way his brows lift in surprise, as the anger begins to build inside her. If there's anything she hates more, it's being made a fool of.

"Guys will do or say anything if it means possibly getting laid, won't you? You're disgusting, you know that? What, is this like a new pickup line guys are using that I don't know about?"

She had half a mind to slap him.

"Hey, just cause you're a girl doesn't automatically mean I want to sleep with you." he clarifies with a serious frown. "And even if I had just wanted sex, I wouldn't have asked you to go on like, a nine to ten hour drive with me in hope that I might get some."

"Then why did you offer to drive me to Ohio?"

He shrugs. "To be honest I don't really know." He knows that's a weak answer so he tries to elaborate. "I guess it's because I find you interesting."

"Interesting?" Her eyebrow arches skeptically. They hardly talked about things she would qualify as examples of interesting character.

"You'd be surprised at how so few interesting girls there are in this world, Ohio." Is all he says in return.

She's still not convinced. "So what, you spend your time hitting up girls to see if they're interesting and if they pass the test you ask them to go on a road trip with you?"

He breathes out a frustrated groan - and an under the breath swear - before throwing out, "Look evidently no answer I give you is going to satisfy you, so just forget I said anything."

As he turns and walks ahead of her, she watches with pursed lips. Because, despite the complete ludicrousness of his idea, she, for some unknown reason, found herself actually considering it.

It wasn't like it would be hard. She already had her things packed. All she had to do was get it from the room and go. Sure Mr. Schuester would freak if she left on her own but it wasn't like she was ditching to go south of the border or something. She would still get home, just a few hours later than the rest of the club did.

And the less time she had to spend in the same vicinity as Finn and Rachel, the better (even if it meant going on a spontaneous road trip with a guy she just met).

Besides it was liable to be the only chance for adventure she'll be getting until she went off to college next year. And even if it turned out to be the worst idea ever, at least she'll have a good story to tell to her friends one day.

Hopefully.

She shuts her eyes tightly and deeply exhales before calling after him, her mind made up. "What kind of music do you listen to?"

Her eyes fly open and thankfully he hasn't gotten so far that she had to scream out in order for him to hear her. She watches, relieved, as he pauses and turns around. "What?"

"What kind of music do you listen to." she calmly repeats, taking a few steps forward to lessen the distance between them. "Because if I don't agree with your taste, I'm going to have to make it a condition that I get some control of the radio."

"Country and classic rock mostly." he replies, a little nonplused at her change in attitude. "Wait, so does this mean you're actually…?"

She breathes out another heavy sigh and shakes her head. "I don't know who's crazier, you for bringing up this whole idea, or me for actually going along with it." Despite that she can't help but smile a little.

He matches her smile with one of his own. "Let's just say we're both a little crazy."

"But good crazy." she clarifies, getting a small chuckle out of him. "Not serial killer crazy."

"No, definitely not serial killer crazy." he agrees, stopping once they reach the entrance to her hotel. "But it would make for an funny story, don't you think? Two serial killers going on a road trip together."

"Yeah, it just screams 'Comedy of the year'." she says wryly, reaching into her purse for her room key card. Gale watches her and when she successfully retrieves it, he begins, "So you'll go grab your things and I'll go get my car. I'll meet you back here?"

She nods her agreement, feeling her anticipation grow. As insane as this all was - and she knows it was - she'd much rather drive to Lima with Gale than be stuck on a plane with the New Directions.

"I shouldn't be long." she tells him, already heading toward the glass doors of the hotel entrance.

He grabs her arm at the last second and beckons to her. "Let me have your phone first."

She pulls it out without question and hands it over to him, having an idea of what he wanted it for. "Call if you reach any snags." he says, his thumbs swiftly moving across her phone before he handed it back to her. His number now in her contact list.

"The same goes for you." she says, hitting the send button on her phone, where then his own phone beeps from receiving her message. He nods and quickly makes his way down the street, but before he disappears from sight - and just as she's about to step inside the hotel - he turns around and calls out to her, "By the way you look cute with the new haircut, Ohio!"

She shakes her head and pushes her way into the hotel lobby, a small smile playing across her lips. She knows its pathetic but she would be lying if she said his compliment hadn't made her feel a little bit better.

She's practically giddy when she exits the elevator, her things in tow.

Lucky for her, everyone had been asleep when she had gotten to the room - no doubt exhausted from the long day - and was able to grab her things and get the hell out of there without any trouble. On the elevator ride down, she had made sure to text Santana what was going on before leaving a voicemail on her mother's phone to let her know the same. The last thing she wanted was for them to file a missing person's report or something.

"Everything go alright?" Gale questions the second she meets him out front. She shakes her head and follows him around the corner to where his car was parked. "Yeah, you?"

"I was jumped by three drag queens and a little person on the way to my car." he responds offhandedly, stopping at a dark blue mustang - a detail she only knows because of the horse symbol on the front - that looked like it was older than either one of them (maybe even combined).

She chuckles and stops at the curb. As he opens the trunk, she shrugs off her duffel bag and hands it over to him to put away. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asks, pausing after he closed the trunk.

"I do if you still do." She hopes he does. She really doesn't want to come crawling back to the hotel room, not that she'd be able to get in anyways - she had left her key card on the hallway table thinking she would never have use for it again.

"I do." he assures, walking around the other side of the car while she moved to the passenger side. "I'm just making sure you do. I don't want to have to turn around halfway out of the city."

"You won't. I promise."

She slides into her seat and closes the door behind her, then pulls her seatbelt across her chest.

"I should warn you that I have pepper spray." she promptly informs him as he's buckling himself in and she's smoothing out her skirt. "And a taser." (She really doesn't have a taser, but the pepper spray she does). "So if you try anything funny on this trip, I swear to God I won't hesitate-"

"No need to paint me a picture, Ohio." he interrupts, sticking the key in the ignition and bringing his car to life. "I got your message loud and clear. But just so you know, the same goes for you too."

"Excuse me?"

"Don't act like you've never checked me out." he replies, turning his head as he backed out of the parking space. "Not that I'm not flattered, cause I am, I just don't want you to get the idea that you can take advantage of me…"

She snorts at that comment. "Yeah, cause I'd totally want to take advantage of you." She doesn't hesitate to roll her eyes. "Please."

"Just saying. I can be awfully cute when I want to be." he says with a hint of a smile as she leans back into the seat. "You might be tempted, Ohio."

She shakes her head again and sighs. "I'll do my best to restrain myself if that happens, Tennessee."

"That's all I'm asking."

"Though I can't make any guarantees." she adds, tearing her gaze away from her window. She laughs at his priceless expression.

AN: Reviews would be greatly appreciated!