Blunt And Honest

Hours later, Kenny and Quinn made their way back to Juliet's dorm room. Throughout their spur-of-the-moment lunch date, Kenny and Quinn talked deeply about the best way to handle Juliet and Will's emotions toward the situation, and they equally came to the conclusion that the only option was abrupt upfront honesty. They also agreed that the easiest one to start with was Juliet. "Alright, one last night, and then we do this. We'll talk to Juliet first thing in the morning, and then I'll text my brother to meet me on campus to talk,"

Kenny nodded in complete agreement, "It's the only way this can work. No more hiding, and no more secrets,"

"There better not be," Quinn slyly replied, "One more girl shows up, and I'm shoving you down the mountain,"

"One more girl shows up, and I'll probably crack entirely, trust me, I'm done with all that. I have what I want," He gave the redhead a playful pat on the butt, earning a giggle.

Quinn opened the dorm room door, and the pair headed inside. Juliet jumped up from the floor by her dresser, stepping past the piles of clothes she was in the midst of organizing to store away, "Holy shit, there you two are! I was starting to think you took off and went back home or something," Juliet joked, "Where were you?"

"I was getting a little tour of the campus," Despite honesty being at the forefront of their minds, Kenny certainly wasn't about to break the news that he just got done having a four-way with Quinn, Ellie, and Nicole, "I know you're gonna tell me not to worry, but I wanted a good look at the university in case things do fall through at the academy,"

Quinn nodded, "I ended up doing the same thing, kinda. I just poked around and checked out where most of my classes are going to be. Then I got something to eat for dinner,"

"Together?" Juliet darted her eyes between the pair,

"Just worked out that way; we ran into one another at the cafe," Kenny smoothly replied,

To their relief, Juliet only let out a pout, "I wish you guys would have told me. I would have come down to get something to eat too!"

"Aww, I'm sorry, Julie!" Quinn quickly pulled her best friend into a tight hug, "I wasn't really thinking. Tomorrow morning, we'll go get breakfast together, okay?"

Juliet gave her eyes a playful roll, "Alright, but you're buying." The two girls giggled, and Kenny blew out a soft breath, thankful that things were staying quiet for the night.

As planned, Quinn and Kenny kept their distance for the evening, as tough as that was, and focused on finishing setting up their dorm room. Kenny made a few runs to the dumpster, tossing out the girls packing boxes, Juliet grabbed some dinner, and before they knew it, the trio were each heading off to bed. It was odd; despite knowing what was coming in the morning, Kenny had no struggle falling asleep. For the first time in months, his mind wasn't running a mile a minute. And even on the dorm room floor, he fell into a deep heavy sleep before he knew it.

Early the next morning, Quinn's eyes opened to the sound of shuffling feet, followed by an instant coffee maker starting to brew a fresh cup. Sitting up, she looked over and saw Juliet give her a tired wave before silently shushing her, "Let him sleep a little longer; I've been asking a lot from him," Juliet whispered as she pointed down at her still sleeping cousin,

"Okay," Quinn nervously swallowed, "Can you make me a cup too?" Juliet flashed her a thumbs up and turned back around. As she did, Quinn pressed her fingers against her groggy eyes and slowly rubbed them, "Okay, Quinny, you can do this, you can do this. Just say it." She encouraged herself in a breathy whisper.

Quinn tossed the blankets off her body, got out of bed, and carefully stepped over Kenny. The idea was to have him awake for this, but something in Quinn told her that it'd be better if this were just between her and Julie. She reached their small table, pulled out one of the two chairs, and sat down.

A moment later, Juliet turned around with a new second-filled cup, "There we go," Juliet hummed as she walked to the table, set down the cups, and sat down in the seat across from Quinn, "Guess this will start becoming our morning routine, hmm?"

"Yeah...it'll be nice to have coffee and talk every morning," Quinn absently murmured back, taking a sip of the hot beverage, "T-Thanks, Julie,"

"Quinn, are you okay?" Juliet set down her cup and leaned forward, "You're acting very strange,"

Quinn shut her eyes, she sucked in a long breath, calmed all her nerves, and when she opened them again, they were steady and full of determination. "Julie, I have to talk to you about something very important."

Juliet tilted her head, "Oh, um, sure, Quinny. What's up?"

"I'm in love with Kenny," Juliet's brow jumped, and Quinn sat up tall, nearly puffing her chest out, "We've been seeing each other for most of this summer. We've slept together, and I've snuck over to your house more times than I can count to be with him. I've even slept overnight." Juliet blankly stared back at her best friend as she continued, "We've gone out on real dates together, Julie, and I love him, and I know he loves me back. We're together now. We decided yesterday, and I knew that meant I had to tell you."

Juliet looked absolutely bewildered, "Wha -- Uh, I -- Jesus, Quinn, that's a lot to take in. You two --"

"Julie, you don't have to say it. I know that you've always talked about the rule that your friends stay away from Kenny. You drilled it into my head for years, but I couldn't help myself. Kenny is an amazing guy. He's so sweet, so kind, and he treats me like an actual person. Everyone else was always too scared of Will to get close, or hell, they were scared of me. I'm not like you; I don't know how to hold my shit together all the time, but with Kenny...even when I start to lose it. He's there." Quinn wholeheartedly continued cutting the brunette off,

"Well, that's great, Quinn, and I --" Juliet attempted to say again, only for Quinn to take right back over,

"And I don't get why you think you have to hold him back. What? Do you think I'd hurt him? Am I not good enough for him? Why did you always want to keep me away from Kenny?"

"Quinny, of course, you're enough for him. You're enough for anyone. When I said that stuff in school, I was --"

"He makes me happy, Juliet! That's all that should matter. What goes on between us is our business, no one else. As my best friend and as Kenny's cousin, I'm asking you to respect that. I don't want to have to pick or choose between you both, as I care about you both so much. But nothing is getting between me and the guy I love. Nothing."

Juliet finally let out a scoff, "Jesus, Quinn, will you let me fucking talk?!" She exclaimed, and Kenny all but shot awake. Quinn stiffened in her seat, preparing for the worst, while Kenny's eyes widened as he realized just what he woke up to. The brunette wet her lips, looking between her cousin and best friend a few times, "I'm...I'm really happy for you both," Juliet finally said with an easy smile,

"W-What?" Quinn stammered,

"Julie, you really mean that?" Kenny added in disbelief,

Juliet leaned back in her seat and merely shrugged, "Look, for the longest time, I didn't think it was okay for this stuff to happen. Then I started doing it with JJ, and I just couldn't convince myself what I was doing was actually wrong. Then when Kenny caught us together, and all you did was say it was okay, I was just -- It's like you said, Quinn. It's none of my business what either of you does. So if you're in love with Kenny, and he's in love with you, then I'm happy for you."

Quinn let out a bursting cry and got from her seat, Juliet followed at once, and the two friends quickly embraced, "Thank you, Julie! You have no idea how much this means to me! T-To us! I knew you wouldn't let me down! You're the best friend I've ever had, Juliet!"

"Oh, Quinny," Juliet squeezed the girl tight and then eyed her cousin, "You be careful with her. You break her; then I break you."

"Me? If I fuck up, Quinn will handle it herself," Kenny jokingly replied, and the two girls fell into a hearty laugh,

As the laughter faded, Quinn pulled out of the hug, "Still want to get that breakfast?" Quinn eagerly asked,

"Yeah, let me just throw something on," Juliet headed over to her dresser, "You coming, Ken?"

"Uh, yeah, I'll...I'll be right behind you two." Kenny assured with a stretch, "Just need to finish waking up." The two girls nodded, dressed into a pair of fresh clothes, and headed out of the room in a flash. Kenny, meanwhile, slowly got up and pulled on a fresh outfit of his own before making his way out of the dorm room. "Okay...now, Will." He murmured under his breath.