Can't Take My Eyes Off You || Quinntana

Sixteen

"Home for the holidays. Just like we promised."
Quinn looked around, taking in the sight of her best friends. Santana, Mercedes, Mike, Puck, and Finn were all standing together on the auditorium stage. It brought back the warm, fuzzy feeling of performing with the glee club back in high school.

They all looked older. Finn was wearing a button down and nice pants. He'd finally ditched that horrible rugby shirt. Mercedes was glowing with newfound confidence. And then there was Santana, who had finally gotten over Brittany and looked happier than ever. These were the same friends Quinn had spent high school with, but they were all growing into new versions of themselves.

"Since I'm filling in for Mr. Schue right now, I was hoping you all could help me out with the glee kids," Finn said. "Sectionals are on Thanksgiving, and we need to do everything we can to win. So, I'm matching each of you up with a newbie to mentor."

Everyone buzzed with excitement. They may have moved on with their lives, but glee would always be a place for them.

"I'm with Jake, right?" Puck asked.

"Yup. You're with your brother. Mercedes, you already know Unique. Mike, you'll be with Ryder. The kid's got moves—I was thinking you could train him to be the lead dancer. Santana, you've got Marley. She's got a hell of a voice, but you'll need to help her with confidence. And that leaves Quinn with Kitty. She definitely does not have the confidence problem. She's also a Cheerio, so you'll probably get along."

Everyone nodded, eager to meet their mentees. It was about to be a fun week. Suddenly, Puck froze, his lips curling into the smile. He had an idea.

"Friendsgiving at my house Thursday night. I better see you all there."

"Hell yeah," Finn responded with a fist bump. Everyone else murmured in agreement. Their high school parties had been legendary. A room full of drunk show choir kids was never boring. It had been a while since they'd all had fun together like that.

"Should we invite this year's seniors?" Mercedes suggested.

"You just want an excuse to make out with Trouty Mouth," Santana teased.

"Hey, there's nothing going on between me and—"

"Sure, they can come," Puck interrupted. "It's not a party without Brittany getting drunk and stripping."

At the mention of Brittany, Quinn saw Santana's eyes drop to her feet. She was over Brittany, but it would still be a lot of emotions to be around her. Quinn reached over and subtly gave her hand a squeeze. Santana looked up at her gratefully.

"Alright. I've gotta get back to lesson planning, but I'll see you all in the choir room tomorrow. Get ready to make some champions!"

Everyone dispersed. Quinn and Santana found an empty classroom to chat in. With all the changes in their relationship happening so quickly, there was an uncharacteristic awkwardness between them.

"What are your Thanksgiving plans?" Quinn asked, searching for a conversation topic.

"I don't really have any. My parents are actually out of town, and I'm not about to spend the day with my abuela."

"You should join my family for dinner. Frannie is home from law school, and I can only listen to my mom tell me I should be more like her for so long."

Santana frowned. "Your mom does realize you got into Yale, right?"

Quinn sighed. "Yeah, but Frannie also brought home her fiance, who is handsome and rich and absolutely disgusting."

"Ah. Well now I've gotta come so I can meet this guy."

Quinn rolled her eyes, but she was glad Santana was going to save her from her family dinner. Even the relentless torment from her mother wouldn't be so bad if San was there.

Santana checked the time on her phone. "Hey, I gotta go, but I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

She leaned in for a kiss just as Quinn's phone began to ring. Quinn blushed and checked the caller id. It was her mom. "Sorry. gotta take this."

Santana snuck in a quick peck at Quinn's lips, then left the classroom. Quinn answered the phone and was met with her mother's cheery voice.

"Hey, Quinnie! Just wanted to check in about when you're getting home. I've got meatloaf in the oven!"

Quinn made a disgusted face even though her mom couldn't see it. "Sounds great, mom. I was just about to head home."

"Okay, hunny. I'll see you then."

"Wait," Quinn said before her mother could hang up. "Is it okay if Santana joins us for Thanksgiving dinner? Her family is out of town."

"Of course, hun! I can't wait to hear about how she's doing in college!"

"Yeah. Love you. Bye."

Of course that was her mom's response. She only thought about two things: boyfriends and college. Santana would be thrilled to talk about both.

As Quinn was leaving the classroom, something on the floor caught her eye. A notebook with a worn leather cover. She recognized it instantly as Santana's. Without a second thought, she bent down to pick it up and flipped it open to a random page.

It was filled with messy writing, many lines crossed out and rewritten. In the margins, there were scribbled letters. G. C. Em. D. Chords. This was Santana's songwriting notebook.

Quinn hesitated, remembering how protective Santana had been of her songs. They were private. But she couldn't stop herself from reading a little bit. One passage in particular caught her eye.

And despite it all I still want you
Want to wake up beside you the soft sunlight
This thing we have is imperfect
But you're the one that I want at the end of the night

Was that about her? It had to be—the date at the top of the page suggested it was written just a week ago. Looking at the rest of the lyrics, the song appeared to be about a childhood friend who became something more. She felt herself begin to tear up. Was that really how Santana felt?

Maybe it wasn't about her. Songwriters write songs about imaginary things all the time. Either way, Quinn could tell that Santana had real songwriting talent, and she wasn't going to let it go to waste. She knew what she had to do.