"Cause it seems I get so hung up on

The history of what's gone wrong

And the hope of a new day

Is sometimes hard to see

And though I'm finally catching onto it

And now the past is just a conduit

And the light there at the end is

Where I'll be."

I was snuggled into Quinn's side on the sofa at my house, and everything felt right. We weren't watching Funny Girl, since Quinn had revealed her extreme dislike of the musical the last time we watched it, but at least we were watching a musical.

"Quinn?" I murmured.

She looked down at me from the movie. "Yeah?"

"I missed this. Us."

She smiled and then looked away. "Me too."

"You know what I really miss?" I asked suggestively.

I felt Quinn stiffen. "And what would that be?"

"Kissing you," I stated before moving in for a kiss. She stopped me and held me back.

"Rachel, you know I can't." She had a pained look on her face.

I pouted. "But I don't see why not."

"I just can't do it again. Not yet." We had went over how Quinn could only do friends at the moment weeks ago right after I played "Hey #3", but I had hoped we would be able to have progressed to at least kissing after a couple weeks. Unfortunately not. She wouldn't even cuddle with me until last week.

"Quinn, I want us to be more," I stated, voicing my opinion at last. I had agreed with her about being friends back then, but it was never what I really wanted.

"So do I, but not right now," she stated firmly, leaving no room for compromise. "Please don't make this into an argument. I just want us to get back to best friends before we even think about doing more, okay?"

I sighed. "You're right. I know if the situation was reversed I would be entirely unforgiving."

She laughed at this. "You're joking, right? You're Rachel Berry, most forgiving person on the planet. You probably would've been angry with me for a grand total of one day before accepting my apology on the condition that I sing a song to you in glee."

I shoved her shoulder, my face sporting a grin. "Not true!"

She grinned back, and it was probably one of the first true smiles I had seen from her in a while. "You know it is. What song would you have made me sing? Probably something from Funny Girl to apologize for saying I didn't like it."

"Not even close! All the Barbra songs are mine!" I cried.

"Well of course. I was thinking something more along the lines of Nicky's 'I Want To Be Seen With You Tonight'."

"Oh Quinn I can just imagine it now! You showing up in the choir room in a tuxedo to sing that song," I said before dissolving into a fit of giggles, burying my face into her shoulder.

"I guess it's a good thing the situation wasn't reversed then," she replied, and I could hear the smile in her voice.

It would take time, but we would get back to normal. I was sure of it.

"Quinnie! Your friends are here!" I heard Mom call.

After the whole mother-daughter bonding wore off, she began to push for me to bond with my friends. Apparently going over to Rachel's to watch a movie at least twice a week wasn't enough, so she took matters into her own hands. She called up Santana, Brittany, and Rachel for a sleepover.

Because it was the most disastrous idea ever, Rachel feigned sick and got out of it, leaving me on my own. She thought it was funny, but I would get her back somehow. If I had to listen to Brittany and Santana have sex all night, she should've had to as well.

I slowly made my way out of my room and down the stairs. About halfway down, Brittany ran up them and pulled me into a hug. "Quinn! I haven't seen you in forever! Have you been hiding at Rachel's?"

I felt my eyes widen at the mention of Rachel, as Santana had just appeared around the corner with their bags, and she did not know about what had happened with Rachel and me yet. If anyone didn't need to know, it was Santana. She would ruin me if she found out.

"No, B, just working out a lot," I replied, trying my best to stay calm. "Gotta get back into shape before Cheerios tryouts, right?"

Santana rolled her eyes at this as she made her way up the stairs. "Oh please. Like you're getting back on the squad." She purposely bumped into me with a bag before continuing upstairs.

"I will," I stated, following her. "And when I do I'll take Head Cheerio away from you."

"In your dreams, Q."

At this point in time, Santana and I still weren't really friends. We were held together by the common factor of Brittany. At least, we didn't call each other friends. Looking back on it, we kind of were, if you consider fighting all the time friendship.

"Okay now where's the booze. I want to gets my drink on," Santana said after collapsing on my bed.

"What are you talking about?" I questioned. She couldn't honestly think that we would be drinking with my mother there.

"Your mom promised drinks if we came," Santana replied. "Why else do you think I'm spending my Thursday night with you?"

"Oh no, she isn't really—" I was stopped as my door burst open. Mom walked in, beaming at me, carrying bottles from the liquor cabinet.

"So I thought we could start with—"

I cut her off. "No, Mom."

"But how else do you plan on having fun?" She looked confused. "And I'm supervising! I'm doing the responsible thing by controlling your alcohol intake!"

"C'mon, Quinn! I want to empty one of those so we can play Spin the Bottle!" Brittany cried, pulling me into a hug from behind.

I sighed. It was going to be a long night.

After a while, we really did end up playing Spin the Bottle. I made my mom sit this one out. She wanted to play, which was really surprising considering we were all girls, but I guess she was too intoxicated to care. Santana and I put her to bed before we played, despite her protests.

When we came back, Brittany was sitting on the floor holding a bottle, looking immensely excited. She gestured for us to sit down, and I reluctantly took a seat to her right, Santana taking the left.

"Isn't this kind of pointless, seeing as there are only three of us?" I asked, and Santana immediately shot me a glare.

"Would Truth or Dare be more your style, Q?" Santana questioned. "Probably not, seeing as you're both a coward and a liar."

"You're one to talk," I responded, and I knew that I had struck a chord.

Brittany pouted, completely oblivious to Santana's anger. "But I want to kiss Quinn."

If possible, Santana's anger grew. I was starting to fear for my life, and wished that Rachel was there to make sure Santana didn't kill me in the middle of the night. "I don't think S would like that," I said to Brittany.

"She's been wanting to have a threesome with you for like, ever, and this is the first step so," Brittany gushed, and Santana's anger dissolved into embarrassment as she buried her face into Brittany's shoulder.

"You're not supposed to say things like that," I heard Santana mumble, and I had to suppress the urge to laugh.

"What do you expect? I'm drunk!" At this, I did laugh. Brittany grinned at me.

Santana sat back up, took in a deep breath to compose herself, and then said, "Brit, if you really want to kiss Q, then all you have to do is dare her in Truth or Dare."

"Okay!" It was settled then. The bottle that we had drank all the alcohol for was useless. "Quinn, truth or dare?"

I smirked. "Truth."

Brittany frowned. "That's not the answer you're supposed to pick!" This bought me another glare from Santana, so I was quick to change my answer.

"Fine okay dare!"

Brittany's smile was back. "I dare you to kiss me!"

I sighed, and moved to give her a peck, hoping Santana wouldn't kill me for just that, but Brittany wasn't settling for that. Before I knew what was happening, I was in a full on make out session with Brittany. And it was good. Brittany was a spectacular kisser, but there was something missing. The emotions that I normally felt when kissing Rachel weren't there. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it, because let me assure you, I did.

That is, until Santana forced us apart and I saw the look on her face. "Okay! That's enough! If anybody's gonna get her mack on with B tonight, it's not gonna be you, Q."

I rolled my eyes. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare," Santana replied automatically.

A sudden realization dawned on Brittany. "Quinn! That kiss is not gonna hurt Rachel's feelings, is it? I don't want you two fighting again. It's so sad when you fight."

"No it'll be okay," I was quick to say, hoping that Santana's intoxicated state would prevent her from catching what Brittany had let slip. Unfortunately that wasn't the case. Santana wasn't that drunk.

Santana's eyes narrowed. "What the hell is she talking about, Q?"

"Um…" I panicked. "Dare you to go jump in my pool right now!"

Unable to back down from a challenge, she jumped up. "You're on!"

I did nothing but dares for the rest of the night.

Yes, alert the presses. Fifteen years had passed and I had not been camping once. When Quinn learned about this "travesty" in passing, she promised me that we would go camping over spring break. Well, that was back before our big fallout, so it all but left my mind.

Apparently it wasn't the same way for Quinn.

One day at the end of June she called me over to her house, stating that I should hurry. I immediately dropped everything and rushed to her house. My mind jumped to the worst conclusions, imagining Quinn's mother having found out about her sexuality, or one of them hurt.

When I got there, Quinn wasn't the one to answer the door, which worried me even more. Her mom very calmly directed me to the backyard. I flew out the door, and there was Quinn, looking slightly confused at my probably crazed-looking self. I pulled her into a tight hug before she could speak.

"Thank goodness you're okay," I whispered in her ear.

"I never said I wasn't?" she replied before breaking the hug. I slapped her on the shoulder. "Hey! What was that for?"

"For making me worry!" I hit her again for good measure before she backed up.

"Sorry! I just wanted you to come over to see my surprise."

It was only then that I took notice of the surroundings. Of course there was the pool, but after that where the grass started there was a tent set up near the fire pit.

"Are we camping?" I questioned, a bit hesitant. I had never been camping, so I had no idea.

She smiled at me. "Yes. I thought I'd make good on my promise. Better late than never, right?"

I pulled her back into a hug, the excitement hitting me. The excitement was gone after about an hour.

"Quinn it's so hot," I whined. "Can't we just go inside for a little bit?"

She looked up from where she had been gazing into the fire. I could see the sweat beads on her, but it didn't seem to be bothering her. "No, we're in the wilderness."

"But we're not!" I pouted, which I hoped would work on her. It only caused Quinn to roll her eyes. "Your mom is right there in the kitchen window waving at us!"

Quinn ignored her mother's waving. "Use your imagination, Rach."

"I've been imagining I'm in the snow for about ten minutes, and yet I'm still sweating. Your imagination only works so far."

Suddenly Quinn wore an impish grin. "Close your eyes, lie down, and try again."

"Quinn…" I didn't like that look on her face.

"Just trust me." I sighed and did as she said.

After a few seconds, I felt strong arms pick me up from underneath. "Quinn!"

She didn't reply, and before I knew what was happening, she had let me go. My back hit water, and the shock caused my eyes to open.

Quinn had thrown me into the pool.

I sputtered, trying to find an insult for her. She just laughed before saying, "Are you still hot?"

"Quinn Fabray I hate you!" I yelled at her.

She giggled. "Love you too." We both froze, staring wide-eyed at each other. It was the first time she'd said it since March and we both knew it. To remedy the silence, she stripped, revealing a bikini. Then she jumped into the pool with a perfect dive.

She resurfaced beside me, and I sighed. "What am I supposed to wear the rest of the night now that you've gotten my clothes wet?"

"Hm," she contemplated for a minute, and then said, "Nothing?" I splashed her with water, and she grinned at me before splashing back. A water fight began, and I decided that if this was what camping was like, I didn't mind it as long as I was with Quinn.

To build team unity or something like that, Rachel was throwing a party on the Fourth of July for the glee club. Honestly, it was probably just so she could be with both me and her boyfriend on the holiday.

I rolled my eyes at the thought of her "boyfriend". Rachel refused to break up with him, stating that she won fair and square, and now I would have to endure what she went through watching me date Finn. It was insanely stupid, but Rachel just said she needed to date someone while I couldn't date for a year, and dating Finn would boost team unity.

I was really sick of "team unity" by the time the party rolled around.

At the party, I mostly sulked in a corner as I watched Rachel flit around to all the different people. She spent quite a lot of time with Matt, which was understandable seeing as he was moving in a week.

After a while, Puck joined me.

"Hey," he said, coming up and handing me a drink.

"What does this have in it?" I questioned, knowing better than to just drink something from Puck.

"Nothing, it's just Diet Coke, I swear," he replied. "You know the Berry men did a search of everyone for alcohol before we were allowed in the backyard."

I took a test sip. Sure enough, it was what he had described. "I wasn't searched."

He snorted. "Yeah, cause you're a girl. You're not gonna try to bring in booze."

"Bet Santana was searched," I stated, and he laughed.

"Yeah, you're probably right." He took a sip of his drink before speaking again. "But if she wanted to sneak something in, all she'd have to do is hide it on Brittany."

"True."

We were silent for a while before he spoke up again.

"You know why she's doing this, don't you, Q?" he asked, having caught me staring at Rachel as she fawned over Finn.

"And why is that?" I questioned, wanting to hear his insight.

"Same reason she dated Jesse. She's done taking your shit, and she wants you to do something about it. Better not wait around as long this time before you date her, or it'll be even worse."

"Who said I planned on dating her? What if I just want to be friends?" It was about the furthest thing from the truth, and he knew it.

"Q, please. You've never wanted to be just friends with her. Never will," he said. "Just be careful. She's not going to wait around forever."

I nodded, and then Rachel looked over at me. She smirked, and I knew I had just gotten caught staring, so I gave her a small smile. She excused herself from her conversation with Finn, Matt, and Artie before heading in my direction.

"Quick, change the topic," I whispered.

"To what?"

"I don't know! Anything!"

When Rachel walked up to us, Puck had just started babbling about the first world in Super Mario World. He trailed off into silence when he noticed that Rachel wasn't paying him any attention, having only eyes for me.

"Hey," she said to me.

"Hey."

"My dads are about to start the fireworks, and I thought you and I could go watch them on the roof," she suggested.

I looked over at Puck, who motioned for me to answer. "Um yeah. That sounds great." I handed off my drink to Puck.

She beamed. "Okay! Let's go." Rachel took my hand and led me inside. "We're going through my window," she explained as we climbed the staircase.

We somehow managed to make it onto her roof in one piece. I don't know why Rachel thought this was a good idea, as she almost fell off twice, but we survived.

"So why did you bring me up here?" I asked once we had gotten situated.

"You didn't look very happy," she replied simply.

I sighed, glancing down at my hands. "I wasn't. I know I can't dictate who you date since we're only friends and I'm the one who's keeping us that way, but it still doesn't make me very happy to see you hanging all over Finn. And yes, I know that's selfish, which is why I haven't really voiced this since now."

"Quinn," she started, and I looked up into her eyes. "It's alright to be selfish. You know I am a lot of the time. I'm not trying to force you out of the closet, or to have romantic feelings for me again. That's not what I'm doing with him. I will wait on you," she promised. "And if we have to play stupid games to pass the time then I will."

"You do know I still have romantic feelings for you, right?" I said, and she smiled.

"Yeah, I kind of had a feeling."

I knew I shouldn't do it, but she was smiling at me and I just felt so loved in that moment. So I kissed her.

Even though it wasn't a very long kiss before I came to my senses of what I was getting back into and ran away, it was too late. The game had started again.

Song: Up And Up by Relient K

A/N: The fluff has returned. Enjoy it while you can.

So, I'm going on summer break. I'll be back posting on this story the first Saturday in September! Hopefully! In the meantime, why not read one of my other stories, especially the new ones I'm going to start posting soon? I would really love your input on them. If you're sick and tired of my work, though, I have a faberry fic rec on my tumblr. And if you want to know some real angst, that way my story won't be even comparable on the angst meter, go check out sulkygeek's stories, especially Maneuvering Landmines, over on livejournal.

I think I'm going to split the story here. After all, the original acting challenge is over with. The next part that chronicles season two will be most likely called Happy Medium after the song by Julia Nunes. If you go listen to it you'll get an idea of what you're going to be dealing with when I start posting. Lots more angst, but it won't be a complete angst-fest until after the Christmas chapter.

And if you want to stop reading here, that's cool. I wrote the end of this chapter like it was just for the people who would stop reading. There's your happy ending. Thanks for reading. And for the people that will join me for Happy Medium, make sure to follow me to be alerted when I post it.