Author's Note: As if the spirit of Mufasa entered me one night, I finally wrote this. I just couldn't take it anymore. Lion Quinn's just too awesome to ignore and I couldn't help it. I dedicate this to whoever decided that Quinn is the Lion!Quinn. Also, the idea of other members of New Directions being animalized. You could say it's a crack!fic of sorts, but here it is. Enjoy.

Leonine

October 2, 2011 – Sunday – Carnival

Not many knew this but Quinn Fabray loved carnivals, so it was normal for her to go on that fine Sunday afternoon when it had come to Lima, Ohio just three days ago.

And what Quinn Fabray loved about carnivals were the talented lions that she got to see once in a blue moon, so it was also normal for her to go and watch the Lion Tamer circus act beside the Hall of Mirrors.

But when she stared straight into the lion's eyes and felt a sudden rush going throughout her body, it was a different story altogether.

It was not normal for her.

October 3, 2011 – Monday – The Fabray House

Quinn awoke with a start, her short hair mussed up before scrunching her eyebrows when she glanced at the time. It was four o'clock in the morning. This was not her usual time at all. She clutched her stomach as it rumbled, having the sudden desire to devour a whole gazelle.

A gazelle? Now where did that come from?

Quinn stretched her body, scratched her head, and got out, not even bothering to tidy up her bed. She dragged herself downstairs, her destination in mind straight to the refrigerator.

Two hours later, Judy Fabray also went downstairs to get her daily dose of morning coffee and bagels. She almost had a heart attack though, when she stumbled over one Quinn Fabray sitting Indian style on their kitchen linoleum floor, stuffing the bacon cheeseburger down her throat Judy had bought last week.

The sight was horrific—leftover slices of pizza, a half-eaten Subway sandwich, two tubs of vanilla ice cream, fries, and two loaves of bread were just the few that were surrounding her daughter.

"Quinnie?" Judy asked after she had caught herself, her hand barely holding onto their kitchen island. "Why are you up so early? Are you… alright?"

"Hey, Mom," she said, her cheeks bulging from the food she was shoving down. "I'm just really hungry today."

"I see that." The older Fabray grimaced as she watched Quinn grab a pizza on the floor and inhaled it. She couldn't believe that Quinn wasn't choking with the way she was eating. "Uh, I'll leave you to it then. I'm just going to grab my bagel and—"

Judy reached into the already open fridge as she said those words. Until a slap on the arm stopped her.

"No!"

Judy's eyes widened, her hand retreating close to her chest. "No?"

Quinn shook her head with vigor. She grabbed the innocent bagel Judy was supposed to eat today and chewed it down to the last bite, making a statement.

"It's mine."

Judy took one step backward and another as her body leaned away from her daughter, widening the distance between her and Quinn. She didn't care about her breakfast anymore, losing her appetite as Quinn continued to raid their fridge.

"Sorry, Quinnie, I'll just… go then."

Quinn nodded and waved her off with a free hand.

McKinley Halls – Quinn's Locker

The students parted like the Red Sea when Quinn walked through the hallways of McKinley High, her sneakers scuffing the worn out floor. She was in a good mood today, her hunger being satiated an hour ago when she had that last hotdog.

When she reached her locker and opened it with strength she didn't know she had, she grabbed her books one by one for her morning classes, wanting her day to end already so she could take a nap.

That was, until something stopped her from her routine.

She licked her lips. Something smelled divine. And no, it wasn't food. Not food at all, Quinn was sure of it. She closed her locker with a slam, dropped her books, and followed the mouthwatering scent.

McKinley Halls – Rachel's Locker

"As you know, it is essential to practice everyday after school for one hour to perfect our roles of Maria and Tony. You must also be there in the auditorium, Kurt. Officer Krupke, while it is a small role, can affect the whole play of West Side Story…."

The words were lost in all of the listener's ears. Kurt and Blaine glanced at each other. Santana made blah-blah gestures, mocking Rachel. Mike was just there, trying hard not to lose it. And Brittany was, well, being Brittany.

"Rachel!"

All of them turned to where the sound was—it was Quinn. She was approaching them, and fast.

Santana gave a smug look to Rachel, whose tan was draining to a pale color as she saw Quinn, marching over to them with a stride that could only be described as Head Bitch in Charge.

"Finally, I thought you'd never stop talking. Now Q's gonna give you a piece of her—" and the smirk was gone. "—mind?"

What. The. Hell? And wait, did she just call her Rachel?

Kurt looked like he was scarred for life. Blaine looked at her strangely. Mike looked scared. Santana looked at Quinn like she was crazy. Brittany looked as blank as ever. Rachel looked confused.

"Uh, Quinn?" Rachel asked, her hands finding both of the Quinn's shoulders, trying to back away from her.

"What?" she asked, except it came out more like a, "Mmwha?"

"Hey, Q. You do know you're holding Midget, right?" Santana saved Rachel from explaining, knowing that it would come out as a lecture.

"Rachel smells good," Quinn said, like it was something that was so ordinary to say. She buried her nose deeper into Rachel's neck, her arms encircling the brunette's waist so that she wouldn't get away. "So good."

Rachel's face was beet red at that.

"Why thank you, Quinn." She cleared her throat. "I do have a meticulous showering routine that involves a ten minute interval of scrubbing and rinsing."

Santana guffawed before saying, "The fuck?"

October 4, 2011 – Tuesday – Choir Room

"You'll never guess what happened yesterday," Santana said with Brittany by her side.

"What happened?" Artie asked as he rolled onto his usual place with Mercedes behind him.

"Quinn and Rachel. It was totally hot. They were almost having sweet lady kisses, except not really," Brittany said before sitting on her usual seat.

Puck's leering grin said it all. "Oh, no way."

"What!" Finn's face went from calm to plain constipated.

"Relax, Finnocence. Don't get your panties in a bunch. Q was just hugging Berry, except it was creepy as shit. No wait, scratch that. It was gay as shit."

"Gay is the right word," Blaine said. Mike nodded in agreement.

"And don't get me started with her Neanderthal speak. She was all like 'Rachel smells good. Rachel looks good.'" Kurt imitated a voice of that of a caveman.

Before Finn could react any further, Rachel came in the choir room.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in." Santana's smirk was back in place.

"What? Where? Did Lord Tubbington sneak in here again?"

"It's a figure of speech, Britt." Santana patted her on the thigh, her eyes still trained on Rachel. "So, Berry. How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you for asking, Santana," Rachel said, taking her seat in the front. There were a few moments of silence before Puck decided to break it.

"So I just heard. You and Q, huh?" Puck waggled his eyebrows. Finn clenched his fists, ready to kick another chair.

"No, of course not. Nothing is going on. Whatever happened yesterday was simply Quinn being friendly to me," Rachel said, her head held high. "She was just complimenting my hygiene, which is normal for us girls."

Santana scoffed. "Yeah, you keep telling yourself that."

Rachel turned her head and glared daggers at her. "Yes, I will keep telling myself that because it's true."

"Yeah, so back off!" Finn yelled out of nowhere, putting his arm over Rachel. Santana rolled her eyes. Finn sucked at defending his girlfriend.

Just then, Quinn entered the room with her usual strut. All eyes were on her and her eyes were on Rachel.

"Rachel!" the blonde took two steps forward before stopping when she saw Finn having his gigantic arm over Rachel.

Everyone in the room swore she growled right then and there.

"Let her go," Quinn gritted out, her hands balling into fists.

"No." Finn stood up, his hand resting on Rachel's shoulder. Finn towered over Quinn by a huge margin but she didn't even budge as she looked up with an icy stare that could make people crawl into a corner and cry.

"Maybe I should say it again. Let. Her. Go." Quinn poked him on the chest as she enunciated every word.

Finn cowered, raising his hands. Rachel gawked at him. "Finn!"

"What?" Finn's face drooped as he sat two seats away from her. "This is Scary Quinn."

Santana doubled over, a barely-held laughter taking over her as Quinn took Finn's former seat and scooted closer to the brunette.

"Quinn, if you don't mind, could you just move over just a few inches away?"

"No." Quinn, her arm around Rachel, continuing what she had done to her yesterday. "You smell like a kitten. Kittens smell good. I should call you Kitty Rachel."

"Thank you, Quinn, but please, our friends are looking," Rachel said, she flitted her eyes over at her peers and then at Quinn. Santana bit her bottom lip, trying her damnedest not to fill the room with her laughter yet again.

Quinn shook her head and nipped Rachel's earlobe. She yelped at that, Quinn continuing her ministrations as she moved lower.

"Hey!" Quinn's lips moved away from Rachel and scowled at the annoying sound that came from the tall boy's mouth. Puck smacked Finn on the back of the head.

"Dude! You just ruined a free show! Quinn was totally going to give her a hickey." Puck's eyes glazed over at that thought.

Kurt shuddered. "Ew. Please, Puck, keep it G-rated."

Finn stood up, his chair taking the damage of his anger as it fell over. "But that's my girlfriend! A-a-and she told her she was like a kitty!"

"Dude, what's your point?"

"I… I don't know but that was an insult, right, Rach?" Finn turned to Rachel for support, who went quiet.

"I like kitties," Brittany said. "Lord Tubbington was a kitty twice."

Mike gave a weird look to Brittany. "How can a full-grown cat be a kitty twice?"

"I don't know. I should ask him about that."

As the words superseded the whole point of the conversation, Rachel's eyes flitted to everyone until it landed on Quinn who had a frown on her pretty face.

What was going on?

But whatever was going on, Rachel was going to know soon, would still be going.

October 5, 2011 – Wednesday – Gym

"Uh, Rach, Quinn is…." Tina trailed off, finding the right words as to what Quinn was doing to Rachel.

"I know, Tina." Rachel sighed and looked down at the blonde. "Please let go, Quinn. I cannot perform the game of badminton correctly with you holding onto my leg."

Quinn scowled. "You're going to get hurt."

Santana belly laughed. "Yeah, Q. She's totally going to get hurt by a shuttlecock."

"See? Even Santana agrees with me," she said. It seemed Quinn's strange behavior came with no knowledge of sarcasm whatsoever.

Rachel glared at her. "Thank you, Santana. You've been of great assistance."

Santana winked. "Anytime, Hobbit."

Cafeteria – Lunchtime

"Incoming," Kurt warned Rachel as they sat down on their usual table during lunch.

"Oh, God," Rachel groaned out when she saw Quinn waving with her free hand while balancing a mountain full of food on her tray. She buried her face into her hands after seeing Quinn approaching their table.

"Where does she put it all?" Blaine asked as he bit a piece of day-old carrot before spitting it out in disgust. Cafeteria food was bad in here.

"I don't know. This is actually new. I've never seen Quinn eat like this. Maybe she's having withdrawals since you can't eat at all when you're a Cheerio. Trust me, I know firsthand," Kurt said, putting a hand over his chest. "And do you see her nightmare of a hair? If she's not going to brush it soon, she's going to have split ends, or worse, breakages."

Blaine nodded in acknowledgement.

"Hi, Rach!" Quinn ignored the two boys.

"Uh, hello, Quinn," Rachel said as she rifled through her mind for excuses to get out of lunch early.

"Look, I got you this." Quinn set her tray down. "And I got enough for us to share."

"No thank you, Quinn." Rachel's face contorted, her lip quivering. She held her tears as she focused on the bacon grease dripping on the tray.

"Oh, dear," Kurt said as he stood up and grabbed the already shaking Rachel to lead her far, far away from the offending meat. "I'll see you later, Blaine."

Blaine waved at them and was now alone with Quinn, who was also now sulking as she ate her bacon in silence.

"So…." Blaine was aware that he never had a real conversation with Quinn before.

"Don't talk to me."

"Okay," he said, nodding as though it was the best idea ever.

Football Field – Practice

Just at the side of the field, Rachel had her hands supporting her head as her eyes bounced back and forth on the football her boyfriend and his teammates were throwing around. She was daydreaming on songs she was going to sing in glee that could win them Nationals.

"Rachel! Watch out!" Finn shouted and Rachel closed her eyes and winced, waiting for the collision. It never came.

She opened one eye when she sensed a shadow covering her and saw Quinn's back, her right hand holding the ball with her other formed into a claw.

At the other side of the field, Santana smirked as she saw everything happening at once. "He's going to get it now."

Brittany skipped towards her. "Who's going to get what, San?"

With a smile, Santana grabbed her hand and together, pointed at the scene. "Look, Britt-Britt."

And sure enough, Quinn threw the football at Finn's face. And hard.

Hummel Tires & Lube

Burt Hummel's head shot up and regretted it as soon as his head banged into the hood of the car he was fixing.

"Did you hear that?" Carole Hudson-Hummel asked as she set the tray of sandwiches on a tier of tires, her head towards the direction of the piercing sound. "It sounded like a little girl screaming for help. Do you think we should call the police?"

October 6, 2011 – Thursday – McKinley Halls

"Oh my God, Quinn! What are you doing? Put me down this instant!"

"No," Quinn said, still doing the fireman's carry. "It's Lion Quinn's lunchtime."

As they passed by a few bewildered students and an alarmed Mercedes, Rachel, with pleading eyes, mouthed out, "Help me."

Mercedes shook her head with wide eyes. "Hell to the no."

McKinley Halls

"Quinn! Stop!" Rachel backed onto a wall as Quinn approached her, her hazel eyes in a predatory gleam. Quinn placed her hands on the wall, her forearms brushing the sides of the Rachel's head as she leaned down. She growled in approval when Rachel squirmed underneath her. Quinn's lips closed in on Rachel's face, now a few centimeters away, and if one was to give them just a tiny nudge, they would already be kissing.

"Come on, Quinn. Shit. Just do it already," Puck whined in the background. If it weren't for his badass image, he would be stomping his foot and do a tantrum right there.

"Noah, a little help would be greatly appreciated." Rachel turned her head away so Quinn's lips would meet her jawline.

"Hey!" Finn, who had a huge black eye and a bandage on his nose, appeared out of nowhere beside Puck.

A slap on the head. "Ow! What was that for?"

"You just destroyed another moment, Finnept! Jesus, can't you just keep your mouth shut for just a second?"

Finn glared at him, flailing his arms. "But that's my girlfriend!"

Puck made a face. "Yeah, so? They're the two hottest girls in the campus and you don't want them to make out?"

"Of course I don't want them to make out!"

Puck stared at him before laughing out a, "Dude, you are so gay."

Finn fumed. "I am not!"

"Calm your puffy pyramid nipples, Frankenteen," Santana said, checking her nails as she and Brittany appeared out of the girl's bathroom. "I'm trying to get my mack on with Brittany and you're totes ruining it."

"Oh—just… ugh!" Finn turned around and lumbered away from all of this bedlam.

October 7, 2011 – Friday – Janitor's Closet

"Artie."

He turned to where the sound was.

"Artie," Rachel repeated with a harsh whisper, her head peering out of the janitor's closet. "Over here."

Artie rolled to a fidgety Rachel. "What's up?"

"Is Quinn around the premises?"

Artie looked around the secluded hallway and then back at Rachel. "Uh, no… not that I'm aware of."

Rachel sighed as she emerged from the room. "Thank you."

"Rachel!"

Rachel's head snapped to Artie when she heard her name. "Artie, would you so kindly do me a favor?" Artie threw her a slow nod. "Can I please sit on your lap and you get us out of here?"

"Listen, I got this thing so—" and Artie took off like nobody's business.

"Artie! Artie, come back here!"

Dance Studio

Mike stopped dancing when he noticed Quinn not performing the moves he was showing to them. She just stood there with her arms crossed as she glowered at the floor.

"Quinn?"

"Rachel's not here."

"Uh, no," he said, rather cautious. "She's not. I think you already know that Rachel doesn't attend Booty Camp."

"Well then, I won't dance."

"But you have to." Kurt, Mercedes, Puck, Blaine, and Santana shook their heads at Mike. Finn was left gaping at them. "Uh, never mind."

"What's that all about?" Mr. Schuester's gaze landed at each and every one of them after he had watched Quinn grab her gym bag and go. "Did I miss something?"

"Quinn's a lion," Brittany said when everyone else didn't bother. "Rachel's her mate."

"And I'm not even gonna touch that subject with a twenty foot pole," Mercedes said with a quirked eyebrow.

Classroom

"Who was the—" Mrs. Cooper sighed. "Yes, Rachel?"

"It was Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev."

"Very good, Rachel."

A book was thrown at her direction and Mrs. Cooper ducked—a near miss. She frowned. "Who threw that?"

All the students pointed at Quinn, who was raising and shaking her hand up high in the air.

"Miss Fabray, why on earth did you do that?"

"No one compliments Rachel except me!"

Rachel sank deeper on the seat as the teacher glanced at her and back to Quinn. "You two. Principal's office. Now."

Their classmates laughed and Rachel had never been more horrified. What's worse, she had never been dismissed. She grabbed her things with a scowl and got out with Quinn following her like a lost puppy. What was wrong with Quinn? It was now the end of one school week and she still didn't know what was going on.

"I cannot believe you. Why did you do that?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I just hate it when people are being so friendly to you," Quinn said, catching up to Rachel's brisk steps.

"What are you doing, Quinn?" Rachel asked for what seemed the umpteenth time towards Quinn when her arm curled over her shoulder to bring her closer. Quinn sniffed—literally sniffed—her hair.

"Admiring your hair. They're so soft," Quinn said with a lovesick tone.

"No, no. I mean, what are you doing?" Rachel pushed her away and Quinn pouted. "This is so unlike you. I don't understand why you're acting like this. To me of all people. This is all one big joke, right? Because, well, I'm not going to fall for it."

"No. No joke. I promise. Lion Quinn will prove it to you okay?" Quinn entwined both of their hands, a goofy smile breaking out of her lips. "C'mere."

Rachel's eyes went wide as Quinn kissed her—finally—right then and there.

October 8, 2011 – Saturday – Park

"She's cursed," Brittany blurted out after Rachel had explained everything to her. She threw a breadstick to the pond to feed the ducks.

They were at the park at Brittany's request, and Rachel resorted to the last person she wanted to ask for help since no one from New Directions was willing at all. Santana had laughed at her face, Finn had lashed out on her, Puck had gone all glassy-eyed on her and voiced out his R-rated fantasies about her and Quinn, and Kurt, Blaine, Artie, Tina, Mike, and Mercedes had all but avoided her.

Rachel blew out a sharp sigh at Brittany's deranged explanation. This was coming from the girl who thought their trophies would grow.

"Really, Brittany? That's all you could come up with?"

"Think about it." Rachel almost wanted to laugh at that statement. "Quinn's gotten really weird and she's acting all territorial on you."

"And that would automatically mean she's cursed?"

"Well, yeah," Brittany said like it was obvious. "If some of us will be cursed like Quinn, then San and I will be irresistible puppies, Finn, a giraffe that always need to poop real bad, Mercedes, an adorable bear, and you, a cute kitten."

The furrow that etched Rachel's features grew deeper and deeper as she tried to comprehend Brittany. "Okay…?"

"Anyway, you should totally see a psychic with Quinn. I can give you mine. She's the one that cured Lord Tubbington's smoking habit."

Rachel sighed again. She didn't know what else to do. "Please send me the address later via text message."

"Sure." Brittany tossed another crumb. "And thanks for the breadsticks, Rach. The duckies are happy now."

October 15, 2011 – Saturday – Psychic Shop

After another week of Quinn pining after her, Rachel decided that it was time to follow Brittany's advice, no matter how insane it was. Not just for her sake, but for everybody that dealt with this side of Quinn as well.

"Thank you for meeting me here, Quinn."

"Anything for you," Quinn said with a smile as her arm went around Rachel's shoulder like it was a life raft. She kissed Rachel on the cheek and the latter didn't bother anymore avoiding Quinn's endeavors. Not that she would admit it, but Quinn's undivided attention grew on her a little bit. Just until she would get too touchy feely with her in public, though.

Rachel smiled despite herself. She would miss this considerate, unguarded Quinn, but she knew she was being selfish. She needed Quinn to act normal again.

As they entered the eclectic shop, an ordinary, slightly chubby middle-aged woman with red hair greeted them behind a mahogany desk. Rachel expected a person with a turban wrapped around their heads, rings on all of their fingers, and a crystal ball.

"Hello, my name is Rachel Berry and this is my friend, Quinn Fabray."

"No." Quinn pouted. "We're mates. Rachel's my mate."

Rachel Berry pinched the bridge of her nose, not knowing whether to smile or frown at that. "Pardon Quinn, please. She's been acting like this since the third of October."

The woman chuckled. "My name is Itell A. Fortune. But just call me Itell. Please let her sit so I can have a look."

"Quinn, do what Itell says," Rachel said, motioning her to sit on the only chair in the room. After Quinn had taken the seat, she gazed at Rachel.

Rachel sighed. "Yes, Quinn?"

"Sit."

"There's only one seat, Quinn."

"No. Sit on my lap."

"No, I'm not going to do that. It's rude. I'll be just behind you, alright? I won't go anywhere."

"No."

"Quinn, stop acting like a—"

"—lion." Itell shook her head with another chuckle when Quinn pulled her down to her lap and ran her hands all over the poor brunette.

Rachel looked at Itell, trying to get away from Quinn's frisky hands when she sat against her will. "A lion?"

"That's right. It's her spirit animal." Itell opened a leather-bound book and turned it the other way around to point the section that said that. "It's not all the details, but a lion can be very passionate with their one true mate and is incredibly jealous if one is not careful."

Quinn nodded and hummed as she rubbed her cheek on Rachel's back, her fingers playing with the hem of her sweater. "Mine."

"A spirit animal would come out if one is provoked by certain things but I've never seen a case this severe before. Judging by this, she's seriously repressed."

"Repressed?"

"Yes. I think your friend—" Quinn's head appeared at Rachel's side and gave her a glare. "I'm sorry, I mean mate, has repressed feelings for you. And the lion in her just wanted to get it over with, hence this."

"Speaking of being provoked by certain things," Rachel said. "What do you mean? Is she… cursed?"

"Most definitely." Itell clasped her hands together, nodding. "I can tell she had special contact with a lion. A carnival was here, so that might be the cause."

"I see, so is there—" Rachel seized Quinn's right hand before she got fresh with her. "—is there any cure for this strange behavior?"

The woman hesitated. "I don't think you'd be happy to hear about it."

Rachel was desperate. "What is it? Please, I do not want another week of supervising Quinn's shower routines."

"You have to kiss her."

"Well…." Rachel blushed at the thoughts racing in her head. "We've kissed many times. But to be more precise, Quinn has kissed me many times despite my protests."

In her thoughts though, she wasn't sure anymore if she was against it.

Itell held up a hand. "Then kiss her with the presence of The Tree of Life when the moon is at its brightest."

October 18, 2011 – Tuesday – Choir Room

"The Tree of Life? Isn't that like, the tree in Lion King?" Puck asked and Mercedes looked at him. "What? Lion King is a badass movie, okay. So don't give me that."

"I know. At first I thought it was the African Baobab. But as I've researched it thoroughly, I have come up with an alternative option which is an exact replica of The Tree of Life in Disney's Animal Kingdom. Which is in Florida," Rachel said, running her fingertips on the keys of the piano, pondering whether she should go to Florida to end this madness of it all.

Santana quirked an eyebrow. "So what are you going to do? Do the Rafiki chant and paint Q with a mane on the tree?"

"It's none of your business, Santana." Rachel didn't give all the details of her visit with the psychic.

"I think you've gone all Looney Tunes on us, girl," Mercedes said, making a cuckoo sign. "You actually believe this Miss Cleo?"

"I don't know what else to do, Mercedes. All of you except Brittany won't help me. And Quinn's getting out of hand. She's been hanging on the tree outside my window every night now."

"That actually sounds romantic in a Twilight kind of way," Kurt said. "That is, if you just remove all the obscenities Quinn does to Rachel nowadays."

"Quinn's really possessive." Brittany shrugged. "I think it's really cute."

Finn glared at her.

"Quit sulking, Finnocence. If you look at Britt like that again, I will end you."

He crossed his arms before muttering, "But she's my girlfriend."

Santana snorted. He was so pathetic. "I don't think she is anymore."

"San, be nice."

"…Fine."

Puck made whipping sounds until Mercedes hit him on the arm. "Ow! What did I ever do to you?"

As if always on time before things got out of hand—not that it really helped anyway — Quinn entered the room, having that enamored grin plastered on her face as she practically pounced on Rachel. After a few minutes, all of them cringed—except one—at the sounds and sights before them.

"Is Quinn purring on Rachel's neck?"

"I think she is," Mike replied to Tina's question.

"Did Rachel just scratch her on the stomach?"

This time, it was Blaine.

"I think she did," Kurt said, barely audible. "Something tells me Rachel likes this more than she actually tells us."

Puck's douchey grin appeared. "So much better than Lion King."

October 19, 2011 – Wednesday – Park

"Watch the movie."

Rachel yet again asked Brittany for help. And again, she didn't know why she did.

"I don't think that's going to help, Brittany."

"It does," Brittany said, very sure of herself. "Itell said with the presence of it. She didn't say under it."

Rachel perked up and beamed at her. "That… actually makes sense. Thank you, Brittany!"

Something told her Brittany was smarter than what everyone perceived her to be.

October 20, 2011 – Thursday – The Berry House

With her fathers out on a date, she was left alone in the living room couch with Quinn's head on her lap, stroking her hair as the opening credits of the Lion King came on.

"Break up with Finn." Quinn turned away from the screen, her eyes closed and her nose nudging against her on the abdomen as she exhaled in delight. She tried to be comfortable with her lying position, filling the room with a, "You're supposed to be mine. Always and will be mine. You just don't know it yet."

Rachel blushed once again, remembering Itell's words that Quinn had repressed feelings for her. She was so confused about all this, and just when she and Finn had a stable relationship, she was now the one having second thoughts about it.

Her tumultuous thoughts were broken as her eyes flickered onto the image of The Tree of Life. She reached for the remote and paused it, leaving Quinn in the dark as she pulled her up into a sitting position.

"What are you doing, Rachel?" Quinn's eyes grew darker, her husky voice barely above a whisper. Rachel found this very welcoming rather than having Quinn always shouting her name in the school building.

"This is crazy." Rachel laughed softly, doubting that she was still as sane as before this happened. She stared into Quinn's unwavering hazel eyes, feeling her heartbeat's speed doubling.

"You—" she gulped. So this was what stage fright felt like. "—can kiss me now."

Quinn's lips broke out into another one of those charming smiles she always did to her nowadays before she leaned in. Rachel closed her eyes, ready for Quinn.

This was beginning to feel like one of the musicals she had seen when she was still a little girl. Sweaty palms, torturous slow-motion of heads closing in between two lovers, all it needed now was….

"I love you, Rachel," Quinn said before kissing her, her hand coming up to caress Rachel's cheek.

Rachel was taken aback yet again but became active, her arms going Quinn's neck. An involuntary sound vibrated against her neck and she wanted nothing more than to deepen the kiss.

So this was what it was supposed to feel like. Sure this wasn't the first time Quinn kissed her, but this was the first time that Rachel fully let her.

And when Quinn pulled away and leaned in again along with catching Rachel's bottom lip with her teeth, she couldn't help but release a breathy sigh.

"God, Rachel." Quinn's tongue begged for entrance, to which Rachel gave instant access.

Quinn's arm secured around her waist to pull her up to her lap and Rachel readjusted herself so she could straddle Quinn. The blonde's fingers slid over to the exposed expanse of her lower back, tracing circles as she sucked on Rachel's tongue.

Okay, so this wasn't a simple kiss anymore.

And this was wrong—this was supposed to be an act of curing her, not the act of having a full-blown make out session with her.

Remember when Finn said about fireworks, though? Screw it. This was the Big Bang.

Wait. She had Finn.

Oh, God, what would she say to Finn?

"Wait, wait, Quinn," Rachel said after she had pulled away with reluctance and half-lidded eyes. She looked at Quinn before her, her bruised lips a telling sign that they had been making out for quite a while and they didn't even notice that a few minutes had gone by.

Quinn's eyebrows went up and her eyes opened to reveal something that Rachel could describe as pure fear. As if she was having an epiphany, she shot out of the couch, saying, "What the hell am I doing?"

She wasn't sure if it were meant to be heard, but when Quinn ran out of the Berry household leaving Rachel on the floor, she knew that she was never going to know the answer.

October 21, 2011 – Friday – Choir Room

"Huh. I knew it," Santana said, buffing her nails. "And as always, my awesome gaydar never fails me."

"I thought she just went crazy. Why didn't I see it before?" Kurt asked no one in particular. "All the signs. All that lovelorn looks whenever Rachel sings. All the furtive glances and holding hands when they thought nobody would notice them. And now she's avoiding Rachel like she has a disease," he ended with a dramatic flourish.

Rachel turned around and glared at Kurt. "I'm right here."

Kurt raised his hands. "I'm just saying."

"It's called gay panic, Hummel," Santana said.

"Yeah, totally," Brittany agreed. "That's what San did until she embraced herself as being Lebanese right, San?"

"Well, at least she's back to normal now." Kurt had a look of relief. "I don't want another bad hair day. I wonder how she untangled it though."

"So you still haven't talked to her?" Artie asked, ignoring them.

Rachel leaned back on her chair, frowning. "I can't even if I do desire to have an open discussion with her. She just won't talk to me about what happened last night."

Finn frowned. "I can't believe you kissed her behind my back."

Puck also glowered. "I can't believe that you didn't call me when that happened."

"Oh, boo hoo," Santana sneered out, not sorry for them at all.

"No offense, but are all the girls here gay?" Blaine asked, still relatively new of all the drama in glee.

Mercedes shook her head. "Uh uh, hell no. I don't swing that way."

"Not me," Tina said.

"You better not be." Mike turned to her. "I still remember you saying Coach Beiste's name out loud when we made out."

"And don't forget, she sang I Kissed a Girl for her audition," Kurt said.

All eyes were on Tina, who was now uncomfortable under all the scrutiny.

Mike raised an eyebrow. "Now that you mention it, have you ever kissed a girl, Tina?"

Tina began to sweat. "This is about Rachel and Quinn, guys."

"Look it's easy, Midget." Santana said, cutting all of them off. She would gladly just go on with the real topic at hand. "Just corner her and tell her what's up."

"Why don't I have a say in this?" Finn, his face now recovered from the injury he received from Quinn, asked as he kicked the chair he had been sitting on. "And why are you all okay about it? This is Quinn and Rachel! They're girls!"

"Well, for one thing," Santana said, ticking her right hand one by one. "I know Quinn's fucking repressed ever since she laid eyes on Rachel's ass. Two, I'm tired of Quinn being all emo and shit. Three, I'm even more tired of Berry talking and Quinn seems to be the only answer in keeping her big mouth shut. And four, were you blind and deaf at Berry and Q being all sickeningly sweet?"

"Preach." Artie raised one gloved hand up.

"Well—I just—Rach, why aren't you saying anything? I'm supposed to be your boyfriend." Finn's face contorted like he just smelled something funky in the room. "Back me up on this."

"I'm sorry, Finn," Rachel said after a small pause on her part. "I just need to think this through."

"Okay, guys, so the next assignment is the solo for Nationals." Will Schuester entered the room with a bright expression on his face, setting down his binder on the piano. "We need to get started."

"You know what, I'm tired in all of this."

Finn's hand smashed the cymbal of the drum kit and proceeded to wreck the whole thing as the whole club looked on. After that, he stormed out of the room. They would need Sugar Motta after all—her dad's money to fix the drums, to be more specific.

"Guys, what is going on?" Mr. Schuester asked, his smile falling as Finn pushed his way out of the doors.

"You really don't want to know."

All of them debated whether they should be freaking out more on Quinn and Rachel, or on Brad talking for the first time.

October 24, 2011 – Monday – Girl's Bathroom

"Quinn," Rachel said, her eyebrows shooting up. Quinn appeared a lot neater now, her hair all combed up and her dress not all rumpled anymore. "You weren't in glee last Thursday and Friday."

Quinn looked at her before deciding to get out of here as soon as she could. Until Rachel blocked her way out. "Get away from the door, Berry."

Something inside Rachel snapped. "Oh, so now we're back to that, Quinn, really? After all you've put me through?"

"Don't ever talk about what happened," Quinn said, pointing at her. "It didn't mean anything."

Rachel rolled her eyes, challenging her. "Oh, right. Weeks of you following me around and being so protective and sweet to me didn't mean anything at all."

Quinn approached her, her aura opposite to what she had felt when Quinn had been acting like a lion. Rachel stood her ground nonetheless.

"I don't get why you're denying all of this, Quinn," she said. "I know you were aware at everything you did to me. You just didn't have control of your mind and body."

Quinn looked away. "Don't. Just don't."

"You made me question my sanity." Rachel closed their distance with another step. "You made me go to a psychic, Quinn. A psychic. But you know I would never judge you. So please. At least give me the privilege to at least know what you're feeling."

Quinn paused for a while, before saying, "You really want to know what I'm feeling?"

Rachel nodded and Quinn fell into silence, the faucet running and the students mingling outside were the only things that reverberated throughout the bathroom. Quinn, for someone who didn't like opening up, stared at Rachel with soft eyes, her walls breaking down one by one.

"I know we can't be together, Rach, and this is all too much to hear in one day," Quinn said and Rachel's urge to smile grew stronger and stronger along with the words spilling out of the former's mouth. "But I'm so in love with you, it hurts. I've wanted you for God knows how long, but then I got pregnant, and now you're with Finn and then I have enough issues to share with the whole school to deal with—"

"I broke up with Finn yesterday."

And the mood came to a sudden and complete shift.

"Really?" Quinn perked up before catching herself when she realized she sounded so hopeful. "I mean, really."

"We weren't meant to be," Rachel said as she peered through her eyelashes, a small furtive smile on her lips. "I do not neglect the fact that this is all so fast but after everything that has happened, there's someone I really like all along. I'm not against in getting to know the person more, if they would like to."

Quinn resisted grinning like an idiot, feigning disinterest. "And who might that be?"

"Oh, just a girl." Rachel worried her bottom lip and quirked one corner of her lips upward, her arms encircling Quinn's neck. "She's secretly really affectionate and possessive, though. But I think we finally have come to an understanding."

"I see. And this girl," Quinn said, their foreheads touching. "What is she like?"

"Oh, just someone who has an inner lion within her," Rachel said. Quinn reached out to tuck a stray strand behind Rachel's ear. "Leonine, to be exact."

Quinn's eyes twinkled in mischief. "Rawr."

"Meow," Rachel said with a playful smile. She stood on her tiptoes, not wanting to tease anymore, and kissed Quinn for all she was worth.