Can't Take My Eyes Off You || Quinntana

Five

"The stars look incredible from here."

Once the sun had set, Quinn had decided to take Santana up to her favorite spot on the roof for stargazing. It was peaceful up there, the only sounds coming from crickets and a gentle breeze ruffling the leaves of the surrounding trees. The sky was clear from clouds that night, letting the bright stars pierce their dark backdrop. They looked truly incredible.

"I know, right? I used to love coming up here. It was lonely, but peaceful," Quinn replied as she poured out two glasses of champagne.

"Lonely? Everyone in school worshipped you. You could have had any guy you wanted." Santana took a sip of her drink.

"I don't know, San. Looking back, I never felt right in a relationship with any of them. No matter how great they were, I still felt pretty much alone." Quinn looked down at her lap, surprised that she'd admitted that. She'd never told anyone before. Santana reached over and put her hand on her shoulder.

"Well, I'm here. And besides, you probably have a man at Yale, no? Some rich, smart bodybuilder?"

Quinn laughed. "Not exactly."

"Well you have to like someone, yeah? Spill."

The alcohol must have been getting to Quinn, because for a second, Santana's words made her feel jittery. She carefully took a sip from the glass in her now-shaking hands.

"You mean at Yale?"

"Just in general. You can't tell me you don't have a crush. Quinn Fabray always has a crush."

Quinn paused and placed her glass beside her, picking her next words very carefully.

"Honestly, I don't know how I feel anymore."

Now the alcohol must have really been messing with her, because she could've sworn she saw a hint of disappointment in Santana's face.

. . .

At the end of a long day together, Santana and Quinn parted ways to go to their own bedrooms. Both were exhausted and a bit tipsy.

"Santana, wait."

The brunette stopped in her tracks and turned around.

"What?"

"You can just come to my bed now instead of sneaking in in the middle of the night."

Santana blushed.

"Hey, who says I'd do that?"

"The indent in my mattress."

Santana sighed, giving up, and followed Quinn up to her bedroom. They settled into the bed, just like they used to when they had sleepovers.

"Goodnight, San."

"Goodnight, Q."

Of course, once again, Santana had a hard time sleeping. The bed was comfortable, the air temperature was just right, and the fan provided calming white noise. But she couldn't relax. Even with the extra comfort of being around Quinn, the pain of her breakup made it impossible to rest. After what felt like hours of trying, she turned over to her other side to see if it would be any better.

Her entire body froze, panic rising in her chest. She was face to face with Quinn, their noses mere inches apart. She could feel the blonde's breath on her face and smell her vanilla shampoo. Quickly, she whipped back around, attempting to calm her breathing.

What just happened?

Soon enough, though, the moment was over, and the pain came rushing back.

. . .

Quinn awoke to the sound of crying. Her heart sank. Santana had been doing so well.

She paused for a second, wondering if she should pretend to be asleep or try to comfort her friend. Santana would definitely be embarrassed if she knew Quinn could hear her. After a minute of indecision and listening to the crying, she decided to intervene.

"San?" she whispered. Her friend turned to look at her. She was a mess. Her hair was stuck to her damp cheeks, and there were purple bags lining her under eyes. "Wanna talk about it?"

Santana sat upright and shook her head, revealing a tear-stained pillow. Quinn slowly sat up beside her. She slid toward her friend and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. As if on cue, Santana became limp, sinking into her. Her head found its place on Quinn's shoulder.

"In the day," Santana whimpered, "I can pretend this isn't real. But in the night, it all comes back."

Not having any words, Quinn responded by holding her friend tighter.

The two of them sat like that as some amount of time passed. It was hard to tell how much, as time seemed to warp when they were together. Quinn's shirt was soon splotchy with Santana's tears. All she wanted was to make things better for her friend, but she didn't know how. The best she could do was a few simple words.

"It's gonna be okay."