Junior Year

80

"I'm glad we did this." Quinn stated when Puck parked in front of her house. "I had fun."

"Me, too." Puck agreed.

"Thank you for paying for dinner. You didn't have to do that." Quinn smiled.

"I know. I wanted to." Puck responded.

"I think Olivia had a good time." Quinn said. "I'll have to ask her."

Puck nodded. "I'm sure she did. She and Artie got along really well."

"Yeah." Quinn agreed. "Do you wanna come in for a little while? Maybe stay over?"

"I should get going." Puck said. "Sarah's home alone tonight."

Quinn nodded, even though she was a little disappointed. "Tell her I said hi."

"I will." Puck promised.

Quinn leaned forward and kissed Puck.

Puck smiled when they parted. "Goodnight, Q."

"Night, Noah." Quinn grinned as she got out of the car and went inside.

-

"Where's Liv?" Quinn asked her mom.

"She's in the yard with Tom." Judy answered. "Telling him about her math grades."

Quinn nodded slowly. "While we're alone, there's something I wanted to talk to you about."

"You can talk to me about anything." Judy reminded Quinn.

"I know." Quinn said. "It's about Noah."

"And the apartment?" Judy guessed.

Quinn furrowed her eyebrow. "How did you know that?"

"We talked at the hospital." Judy answered.

Quinn nodded. "And?"

"You need to do what's best for you and Beth." Judy told Quinn. "You're an adult."

"I know." Quinn said. "But I'm conflicted."

"Let's talk about it." Judy suggested. "What are you conflicted about?"

"I wanna move into an apartment with him so he can be there for everything." Quinn explained. "But I don't wanna regret it, and I don't wanna leave you."

"I would be fine on my own." Judy promised.

"I know, but I'm not even seventeen yet. I don't know if I'm ready to live alone." Quinn admitted.

"You need to do what's best for you and Beth." Judy repeated. "But for now, if you want Noah to stay over sometimes, that's okay with me."

"Really?" Quinn asked.

Judy nodded. "You're an adult."

"Tell that to Tom." Quinn muttered.

Judy furrowed her eyebrow. "Did he say something to you?"

"He asked me why you stayed overnight at the hospital with Beth instead of me." Quinn admitted. "And I was too emotional to answer him, so Noah answered and then we went upstairs, and Tom yelled at me to keep the door open."

Judy sighed. "I'll talk to him."

"Thanks, Mom." Quinn nodded.

"You're welcome." Judy smiled slightly. "Now tell me how your date went."

"It was really nice." Quinn said with a small smile. "Noah paid for dinner and we had a really good time with Artie and Liv."

"I'm glad you had a good time." Judy replied as Olivia stomped through the living room and went upstairs to her room, slamming the door behind her.

Quinn furrowed her eyebrow.

"Beth's asleep. I played with her and she's been sleeping for the past half hour." Judy informed Quinn as Tom entered the room. "Everything okay?"

"Did you two know she was failing math?" Tom wondered. "She's too busy going on dates with some boy to keep her grades up."

"Artie's in her class." Quinn informed Tom. "And he's really good at math."

"I don't want her wasting her time with these boys." Tom stated. "She has a bright future and I'll be damned if some guy comes along and ruins her life."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Quinn demanded.

"Quinny, why don't you go upstairs?" Judy suggested.

"Fine."