A/N: I want to thank everyone for the reviews again. I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to happen after the cliff hanger I left you all on but after your comments I was sure of what should happen. I hope you all enjoy this!

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Quinn's hand rested on her door knob, her whole body shaking slightly. Rachel reached out for Quinn's other hand and gave her a gentle squeeze encouraging her to go on. Quinn took a deep breath and slowly opened her door. The pair walked softly across the gray carpet to Quinn's full bed covered in flowered pillows and stuffed animals with a vintage head board.

"Wow Quinn, your room is so…so exquisite! It looks like it belongs in a magazine or something." Rachel took in in lacy pink wallpaper and perfectly placed vintage lamps. She sat crossed legged on the edge of Quinn's bed when gestured to. Quinn reached for the box she had kept hidden under her bead for years now. She brought it up onto her comforter between the two of them while her fingers absentmindedly traced the worn pattern on the top. She closed her eyes and pushed the box towards Rachel.

"Open it, please." Her voice was shaking worse than her body. Rachel looked at her with confusion but Quinn's eyes were shut tight so Rachel did as she was told and opened the box. A small gasp escaped her lips when she saw the first layer of contents. It was all too familiar to her. A small, woven friendship bracelet sat on top of a worn picture of herself as a child with a giant sandcastle behind her while her arms are wrapped around another young brunette. She looked to Quinn again but still got nothing from her expressionless face. One by one Rachel removed the photos and trinkets from the box.

A picture of the two girls making sand art from the first time they were allowed to see each other over the summer.

A picture of Rachel and Claire in the roller coaster that both the Berry men and Lucy refused to go near.

The get well card Rachel had made for Lucy when she was out of school for three days.

A picture of Lucy and Rachel on the swing set being pushed by Leroy and Hiram.

A drawing Lucy made of Rachel and her sitting on the moon surrounded by stars when asked to draw her best friend.

A picture of the girls with Claire wearing IMAX 3D glasses waiting for the premier of The Polar Express.

A picture of Rachel wrapped in a ton of blankets and pouting while Lucy happily toasts a marshmallow in the campfire.

The tickets the girls had made for the show Lucy directed and Rachel starred in for a one night performance for the Berry's and Claire.

A picture of both girls beaming as their first customer put a quarter in their jar at the lemonade stand they built.

And lastly, a picture of Rachel kissing Lucy's cheek in the tree house on their last day together.

Rachel held the last picture in her hand for a few moments trying to process what just hit her like a ton of bricks. She placed the photos and trinkets back in the box and pushed it to the side of the bed. She took one of Quinn's still shaking hand into her own and gently lifted Quinn's chin up with her other hand. Rachel locked her eyes onto Quinn's as though she was seeing a ghost from her past.

"Lucy?" Rachel said, her voice barely a whisper. Quinn stared blankly back at Rachel's confused face and questioning brown eyes. Every moment the two ever spent together flashed through her mind as the tears streamed down her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry Rachel. I never meant to lie to you like I did but I had to change. I'm not Lucy anymore and I can never be Lucy again. She was weak and afraid and ugly. Now I'm Quinn, smart, beautiful, and wanted by everyone. Even my dad loves me now. I can't go back to what I was before Rachel. I'm so sorry. I just couldn't keep lying, not to you. We used to be best friends. You were the only person in the world I could imagine being in my life forever but now I've ruined that and I'm just so sorry." Quinn wiped her tears with her free hand then tried to pull her other away from Rachel's tightening grip. She looks up to meet Rachel's sparkling eyes once again.

"I've missed you so much, you have no idea. I'm glad to know that you're okay although it does hurt knowing that you've been lying to me for the past few weeks. I'm sure we can work our way through this troublesome patch because I made a promise to you when I was younger. I promised that I would always be your friend no matter what and Rachel Barbara Berry does not break her promises to anyone. You can count on that." Rachel smiled at Quinn as if they had never been apart. Quinn took a deep breath, steadied herself, and began to speak the words Rachel would have never been prepared to hear.

"Thank you Rachel. But we can't be friends anymore. I can't lose my status at school. There's no way I'm going back to the bottom of the social ladder. I barely made it out alive last time and there's nothing in this world worth giving up my position for. I need to stay on top. I need my daddy to love me. I need to be accepted. Rachel, I need to be Quinn and you need to let Lucy go. She's dead to me and I suggest you think of her in the same way." Rachel stared at Quinn momentarily then stood with a jerk and turned to leave. Half way to the door she turned around to say her final words.

"Look, I know how much you think your status means at McKinley right now but I'm telling you that none of that will matter in a few years. You're going to look back and see that you pushed away the only person who loves you for being who you really are, Lucy. The girl I used to know would never end a friendship because others didn't approve. How many years did you go against your father? You risked a lot for me back then so why can't you do that now? This 'Quinn' persona has taken over you and destroyed your heart. One day you'll look in the mirror and see the true you and you'll think she's beautiful just as I once did. When that happens, come find me because as I said I made a promise to Lucy that I would always be her friend no matter what. Until then, good bye, Quinn." With that Rachel gave a sad smile, turned again, and left the Fabray house. Quinn sat in shock while silent tears rolled down her face onto the still opened box of memories.

The front door to the house slammed shut. Quinn assumed it was Rachel storming out in a diva fit until she heard her name being called in a deep yell.

"Quinn! My office, now!" She jumped off her bed and hastily wiped her tears on her sleeve while shoving the box back to its hiding place under her bed. She ran down the stairs straight to the ever familiar stool sitting across from the bar in Russell's office. Her face was stuck in the permanent fake smile she had mastered as a young child. Russell poured his usual scotch on the rocks before turning to face his daughter.

"Quinn, why did I almost run over that Berry abomination when pulling into my driveway? Does she go to William McKinley with you? I thought we escaped those monsters years ago." Quinn gulped nervously trying to come up with an excuse as to why Rachel was at her house.

"Yes, she goes to McKinley. We're in the same class and she needed my notes so she came over to return them. She doesn't even know that I'm actually Lucy though Daddy. She just thinks I'm Quinn and have the last name." Quinn spat out the best lie she could think of at the moment hoping it would be enough for him.

"I've told you before to never be friends with that thing and once again you have gone against my orders. I thought you left her behind just as you left that sorry excuse of a daughter I used to have but clearly I was wrong. I would have thought by age fifteen my own daughter would have learned what is right and wrong in this world and what is and is not good for her. Again, I guess I was mistaken." Russell's voice was cold and steady. He set his now empty glass on the table to his right and began to unbuckle his favorite belt. Quinn froze on the spot knowing exactly what was to come next. "Quinn, I will never be mistaken again when it comes to you." Russell stood over his daughter signaling for her to stand and brace herself against the seat stool she hadn't seen in years. She could remember the last time he beat her and the sting of each stroke of the leather against her backside. It's something she could never erase from her memory. The first crack of the belt hit against her thin sweat pants sending shivers of pain throughout her body. With each smack of the worn out leather a tear escaped her eye. And in those tears left all remnants of Lucy once buried inside of her. All that remained was the hardened shell of Quinn Fabray, Head Cheerio, HBIC.