Take it or Leave it (A Glee Quinn Fabray Story)

Shouting and Shock

"Want me to drive?" Finn asks as he yanks open the driver side door. "Sure, whatever." I reply and I toss him my car keys. I stride around to the other side and clamber in the passenger door. "So, Quinn. A baby girl." Finn says, turning to look out his window as he pulls out if the parking lot. "Yeah. A baby girl." I reply nervously. "Finn, I think we need to talk about this, like have an actual conversation about it." He nods. "Okay. How about now? No time like the present. That's what my mom always says." A small half-smirk grows on his face, which causes me to grin. "Well... I want to keep her." I manage. His smirk grows to a full smile. "So do I, but we're teenagers, Quinn. Neither of us have steady jobs, no money, no anything." His face falls. "Well, I've decided to tell my mom, so she could help." I protest, turning to face him. "When did you decide that?" He asks, quickly glancing at me in shock. "Last night. I was up late, thinking about what Miss. Pillsbury said. About how I'm underestimating the impact this'll have on my life." I say, trying hard to keep a straight face. "So, I decided that when I get home, because my dad won't be home, I'll take the sonogram picture down to the kitchen and explain everything to her." We pull into the school parking lot and Finn finds a parking spot. We hop out of the car and he holds the school door for me as we head towards the gym. "Here, by the way." He hands me my keys. "Thanks." When we reach the gym, half the squad is already stretching and Coach Sylvester is already yelling. "THINK THIS IS HARD? TRY KILLING A WHOLE PACK OF WOLVES WITH YOUR BARE HANDS, THAT'S HARD!" The rest of the team slowly trickles in from the locker rooms. Finn quickly kisses my cheek. "Have a good practice." He says, then hurries over to the bleachers. I try to sneak towards the change room without being spotted, but Coach Sylvester spins on her heel to face me. She raises her megaphone to her mouth and screams at me. "Q! YOU'RE LATE!" I blush and duck my head. "Sorry, Coach. My dad needed to talk to me." "NO EXCUSES! MOVE IT!" She returns to her task of trying to make the other girls cry, and I hurry to drop my stuff off in the locker room. Santana and Brittany are still in there, checking their makeup in the mirror. "Uh, you do realize we're gonna be running and doing flips and stuff, right?" Santana shrugs. "A girl's always gotta look her best." She replies, interlocking her pinky with Britt's and pulling her towards the gym. I drop my bag on the bench, and head to the sink to fill up my water bottle. When I emerge from the locker room, Coach Sue has all the Cheerio's lined up at one end of the gym and they're all taking turns doing cartwheels and flips across the gym. I join the end of the line and do a few quick stretches. Finn is seated in the bleachers, and when I look up, he grins at me. I return his smile and take my turn going across the gym. After that, Coach makes us do a pyramid. I'm on top, and suddenly, I feel my leg quiver. "QUINN! STOP THAT LEG!" Coach Sue screams into her megaphone. I scrunch up my face and tighten the muscles in my leg until the shaking stops. She continues to yell at everyone, until our practice is over. I'm dripping with sweat by the time we're done. I quickly shower and change, and when I leave, Finn is waiting patiently for me. "Ready, babe?" He kisses me lightly on the forehead. We leave the gym side by side and spot the large group of cheerleaders positioned by the trophy case. "Hey, girls!" I say perkily as I join them, Finn's arm still wrapped around my shoulders. They greet me warmly and I can tell Finn is starting to get restless as the girl talk continues. "You can go, babe." I say quietly. He hugs me tightly and mutters "Thanks." under his breath. He breaks away from me to go talk to the football players, and I can't seem to break my gaze from him as he walks away. Suddenly, I feel a hand tapping on my shoulder. "Um, Quinn?" I spin around. "Yeah?" I say, startled. "I was just asking if you're coming to the mall tonight?" I shake my head to clear my mind. "So you're not coming?" Santana looks confused. "No, I am coming, I was just clearing my head." I must sound insane. A bell interrupts our little chat. I quickly say goodbye to everyone, and rush off to Spanish.
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After a long day of stressing about it, I finally decide on a way to break the news to my mom. I'll just put the sonogram down on the counter and wait until she notices. The whole way home, I think about how the conversation is going to go. She be so surprised, I'll probably be crying, then she'll start crying and we'll make sure to be done by the time my father gets home. As I walk up the path, I've bitten my lip so hard it's bleeding and I keep digging my fingernails into my palm. As I open the door, I see something that causes me to be way too terrified for tears.