Ever since the scandal, it's been radio silence from Clay. Quinn had assumed that this was because he was very focused on fixing his relationship intact, but she couldn't help but wonder if he blamed her at all. There's no way that he would, right?

Time seemed to move quickly, with all the promotion that Quinn was doing for the Streamys, and the videos that she had been making at that time. Before she knew it, Ellie was jumping on her bed, yelling for her to wake up, that she had an award ceremony to prepare for.

"Ellie, why do I have to be up now? The Streamy's aren't until tonight," Quinn sat up groaning and rubbing her eyes at her ecstatic roommate.

"Here, this'll wake you up," Nick was standing in the doorway holding a mug of coffee, Quinn hummed her thanks as he handed it to her, "I have to say I agree with Ellie, it's gonna be a long day, and there's a lot to do.

Quinn smiled at Nick as he kissed the top of Ellie's head as he hugged her from behind. He had been around much more often, and Quinn was pleased to see both of her best friends so happy together. Nick had always been boyfriend material, and Ellie had always needed someone who didn't mind sticking around. They fit so nicely together, Quinn wanted what they had.

"Once you get her out of bed, come find me, and I'll get the thing," Nick kissed Ellie's cheek before leaving the two girls alone in Quinn's room. It was nearly impossible to ignore the blush on Ellie's cheeks.

"It's getting pretty serious, isn't it?" Quinn pointed out the obvious before realizing a specific detail about Ellie she hadn't noticed before, "You're wearing his shirt."

Ellie had managed to turn a deeper shade of red, "Whaaaaaaat?" She feigned ignorance.

"I have never seen you this nervous about sleeping with a guy," Quinn couldn't believe it, out of all the years she had known Ellie, she had only seen her get nervous about one other person, it was a girl from their senior class, Ellie's first and only girlfriend.

"It's no big deal," Ellie stammered, "It was fine."

Quinn nodded, "It was just fine then? Alrighty."

"We are not talking about this at eight in the morning," Ellie stated, and Quinn threw her hands up in defeat, "besides you have to get up so you can open your thing."

"Thing? What thing?" Quinn didn't remember getting a PR package.

"Nick and I got you a little thing, a pre-celebratory gift. A good luck charm, if you will," Ellie explained sheepishly, practically dragging Quinn out of her bed and into the kitchen.

There were a few things that surprised Quinn. One of them was a bouquet of flowers that made Quinn gasp. The second was a small box that was horribly wrapped. Quinn knew that it was Nick's handiwork.

"What the hell, thank you guys," Quinn hugged the pair individually. She sat at the kitchen table with the small box in hand. Bruno sat at her feet, looking as if he was about to hop into her lap. She reached down and pet him in between his ears to keep him from jumping.

Bruno had gotten used to Nick being around all the time, and had actually started taking a liking to the 22 year old man.

When Quinn opened the box she was met with a small golden necklace, it was a bar and there was something engraved on the back of it. We believe in you. Quinn let out a small awe, and then began to put the necklace on, moving her hair out of her way.

From then on it was a blur. Quinn couldn't pinpoint a single thing that happened from 8:30 a.m. until 4:40 p.m. Ellie painted her nails she did her hair, at some point Nick left to go get ready at the house, Quinn nearly panicked trying to decide what to wear, she did her makeup helped Ellie do her hair, tried to eat food but ended up chucking it in the trash, and even went live on instagram at some point in the day. There was a lot of stress that was going on.

"Quinn will you breathe? You look pretty," Ellie stood behind her friend in the full length mirror of Quinn's bedroom, giving her a reassuring hug around her shoulders.

"I hope I win," Quinn reached up and fiddled with the necklace, rubbing her thumb against the engraving, hoping that everything that led up to tonight was enough.

"I think you have a pretty good shot," Ellie boosted her friend's spirits, giving her a confident thumbs up.

"So have we decided if you're my plus one or Nick's?" Quinn made eye contact with her friend in the mirror, she remembered arguing with Nick about where Ellie was going to sit for the night. There was no way that Quinn would be able to sit with Nick and the boys, because Vanessa would surely be attending as Clay's plus one and Quinn really didn't want to deal with the side-eye all night.

"I'm all yours tonight," Ellie winked, "Well actually, I'm all yours until the end of the night, and then Nick's gonna be here."

"Why does he even pay Clay anymore, he basically lives here," Quinn snorted at her own joke, and then reminded herself not to be so jealous.

The girls added their finishing touches to their looks before making their way to Quinn's car. Quinn's phone vibrated in her hand, a tweet from Nick came up on her lock screen.

My date for tonight bc @ItsQuinn stole my girlfriend.

Attached was a picture of him and George standing awkwardly in the mirror. Quinn laughed out loud, putting her keys into the ignition before showing Ellie. In response, she sent a photo of her and Ellie dressed up with the text, sorry she's mine tonight :] under it.

With that, Quinn put the car in reverse and prepared herself for the hour and a half drive ahead of them. On the way, she tried to not let herself get excited, there were too many things happening and too many things that could go wrong. One of the things she had to keep herself from getting excited was the fact that she would be seeing Clay tonight, after a month of complete silence from him. Quinn had grown to be honest with herself, she couldn't just get over Clay, it wasn't that easy. So instead she let herself crush on him, but in small doses.

"Ellie, can I tell you something?" Quinn frowned at herself, it was stupid, but it was constantly on her mind.

"Of course," there was no hesitation in Ellie's response.

"I don't think I'm over Clay," Quinn said hesitantly, knowing that Ellie would be disappointed.

"Oh, I know," Ellie made it sound obvious, "You thought I didn't know that?"

"Uh... yeah? Because you know, he kicked me out of his house, and didn't talk to me for the longest time, and still won't talk to me now, I kinda expected myself to hate him... But I don't," Something in Quinn saddened.

She should hate Clay and everything he's put her through, but anytime she saw him all she could think about was that night that seemed like forever ago. If she sat still enough, and thought hard enough, it was almost like she could put herself there again, and feel him next to her. She didn't think about it often, fearing that if she let herself indulge too much, she would never recover.

Still, he always seemed to be there, in the back of her mind. Quinn wasn't entirely sure how she would react when she saw him tonight. She had just assumed that she would have to wait and see.

When they reached the very fancy building where the Streamys were being held, Quinn felt like everything was moving so fast. All at once she and Ellie were getting their pictures taken, they were greeting a bunch of people, but there was still no sign of Clay. Before she knew it, she was sitting at a table with people she knew, and was listening to them talk about some game that was being released.

"Quinn, are you feeling okay?" Niki reached out and placed a hand on her forearm.

"Oh yeah," Quinn said, snapping herself out of this haze that she was in, "I'm just... nervous, yknow?"

"Oh don't be," Minx comforted, "You're a shoo in for the trophy. I'll be more surprised if you don't win."

Ellie leaned in closely to Quinn and whispered, "eight o'clock."

Quinn looked at her with a confused look, before Ellie nodded her head, indicating something behind them. When Quinn turned she felt like her whole body stopped working. Clay had been looking at her. When they made eye contact, he gave her a small nod, and then looked away trying not to make it obvious that he had been staring. Quinn looked at George who gave Quinn a thumbs up and winked, leaving Quinn to wonder what the hell that meant.

Vanessa sat down next to Clay and the vibes were off. Quinn tried to figure out what it was between them.

"Oh my God," Ellie pointed it out and the whole table seemed to catch attention to this, "They aren't matching."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Quinn asked, and Minx interjected.

"Everyone knows you're supposed to match colors with your date. Also look at them, they couldn't be seated further apart if they tried," as Minx was talking Quinn was trying to make sense of what she said. She was right, even Ellie and Nick, although they didn't officially go together, wore corresponding colors. Clay and Vanessa did not. Something hopeful rose in Quinn's chest and it made her want to throw up. The nerves were getting to her.

Not long after the awards started and Quinn was absolutely blown away.

"This is really happening," she whispered to herself.

She sat very patiently listening, and on the outside it looked as if she was very focused and was watching the award ceremony with intent, but really, Quinn was trying to make sure that she hadn't stopped breathing yet. Subconsciously, Quinn reached up and touched her necklace again, mindlessly playing with the bar.

When they announced the nominees for Breakout Creator of the Year, Quinn thought that she might cry, she was so nervous. Everyone at their table was looking at her, and she expected that Clay's table was too. This was a lot for her to handle. Ellie took her hand and was squeezing it tightly.

There were two thoughts that crossed her mind, the first being how she had to react if she didn't win, and the second was a more panicked what was she supposed to do if she did? Was she supposed to talk? What if she tripped up the steps?

Quinn was making her whole brain spin when Ellie elbowed her in the side, bringing her out of the trance she was in.

"What?" Quinn was looking at everyone, who was looking at her.

"Oh my god," Ellie face palmed, "They called your name. You won, dingus, go get the thing!"

"Oh!" Quinn sat up straighter, had she really missed them announcing her name? Her first instinct was to look for the boys, and she made direct eye contact with Clay, who had a proud look on his face and was mouthing at her to GO.

Quinn stood and her legs felt like Jello. She quickly and very carefully made her way to the stage, where she was handed the trophy. Looking at everyone who was cheering and clapping for her, really made Quinn realize how insane this really was. Her eyes brimmed with tears, and one of the announcers motioned for Quinn to say something. So many people were watching right now.

"Woah." Quinn breathed out, she had to keep herself under control in this moment, "I think it just hit me." The audience laughed a little.

"This has been my dream since I was little, being able to make an impact, knowing that I can be a role model for some, and I have been blessed to have such a supportive community. I tell them all the time, but they are the reason I do this. I owe it all to them. I want to thank my best friend, who has spent way more time than she should sitting with me as I make her play a game she's never heard of, she has been my rock in this. And I also want to thank my boys. I never would have fallen in love with streaming as much as I have if it wasn't for you guys, you're so wonderful, each of you. Thank you to everyone who has supported me, for getting me this far, I can only hope we can go farther in the future." Quinn could not remember a single word that left her mouth as she made her way back to the table. When she sat down, her whole body was shaking, and Ellie was there to hug her. It was all so surreal, Quinn felt as if she might cry.

She took deep breaths, getting herself under control, "Did I sound okay up there?" She asked the people at her table.

"It was a beautiful speech," Niki complimented.

Quinn was still very dizzy, and that feeling didn't go away as the awards ceremony continued. In fact, it got a little worse, as her adrenaline wound down and she began to get a headache. Quinn was in the middle of soothing herself when the awards ended, and everyone began to stand and congregate. Nick and George were at Quinn's side immediately, hugging her and congratulating her. Wilbur had also made his way over, giving Quinn an awkward but comforting side hug, telling her that he knew she was going to win.

She was filled with so much excitement, seeing everyone around, all feeling proud together, when she saw Clay she practically threw herself into his arms. But it was what everyone had expected.

"I'm so proud of you," Clay whispered into Quinn's hair. This was the first time in a long time that their hug had felt intimate. It didn't matter that they were in a group of people, Quinn felt like it was just Clay, and it made her stomach flutter a little.

"Oh yeah, rub it in Quinn," It was Vanessa's voice that broke them apart, "we get it, you won."

"Excuse me?" Quinn couldn't believe this was happening. Everyone seemed to stop their conversation and just watched. Out of the corner of her eye, Quinn saw Ellie try to step forward, Nick stopped her.

"I just don't get it," Vanessa crossed her arms, she was fully intending on being a bitch. Anything to make Quinn look bad, "Like you won, woo, it's not like you deserve it."

Anger immediately replaced whatever excitement Quinn was feeling, but instead of retaliating directly, she turned to Clay, who met her with a fearful expression, it was almost like he knew this was going to happen.

"Get your girlfriend, and go," Quinn's voice was low. Instead of seeing Clay full of fear, he hardened, he had made a decision in his head, Quinn couldn't tell what it was.

"She's not my girlfriend," He spoke and Quinn's jaw dropped. She could see Ellie giving Nick and George an equally surprised look. Nick shushed her.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Quinn breathed harshly. She turned her attention to Vanessa, who seemed a little surprised at Quinn's anger, "Get out of my face."

"Why would I listen to you?" Vanessa was feeling bold.

"I have spent the last 7 months, bending at your every will, because you threatened my career. You pushed me out of the house, out of my friendship with Clay, and out of touch with myself. I have cried countless times over the thought of you trying to end me. I moved out because you threatened me. I stopped talking to Clay because you texted my number and told me that if I didn't you were going to do something about it. I blocked him, because I was trying to respect your relationship. But you have not respected me once. And I am tired of it," Quinn took a step towards Vanessa, who took a step back, "I refuse to let you run my life anymore. Get out of my face, before I do something about it."

Ellie was at Quinn's side, tugging her arm. Quinn let the anger die, and it was replaced with a guilt that she had to hide for the time being.

"Let's go," Ellie said quietly, "People are staring."

"Let them," Quinn frowned before saying one final thing to Vanessa, "Vanessa, next time you give yourself a tragic backstory, at least make it plausible. There were no police reports about a girl getting stalked by her ex, but there was one where an ex-girlfriend stole her boyfriend's car, and moved states because she was humiliated. Does that sound familiar?"

Quinn had done some research based on the story that Nick and George had given her. She discovered that Vanessa had moved after a breakup but hijacked her exes car, because she had been financially dependent on him. The police weren't able to follow her beyond state lines.

"How did you...?" Vanessa wasn't going to back down, if she was going to go down, Quinn was coming with her.

"You weren't in the hospital because someone broke your window, you were in the hospital because you got into a car accident, with a stolen car," Quinn couldn't explain her purpose of dropping this information, and she knew that she was going to have to pay for it later.

"Yeah? Well I looked into your name too," Vanessa didn't seem affected by Quinn's explanation, but from behind Quinn, Clay was fuming, he learned so much tonight that he didn't know. He felt like a complete jerk, "At least I make my exe want to ki-"

"That's enough," Ellie put her foot down. Quinn nearly crumpled, Vanessa was a bitch for bringing that up, "Go away Vanessa, you're not wanted here."

"Actually, we'll leave," Quinn was trying to keep herself from bursting into tears. She grabbed Ellie's hand and pulled hard, pushing past everyone and pulling Ellie out of the building and into the parking lot.

"Quinn wait," Clay wanted to comfort her, but Wilbur stopped him.

"You'll get your moment," he ensured, "but now's not the time."

Quinn lost it as she got into the passenger seat in the car. Ellie refused to let Quinn drive home, Quinn had already been a nervous driver at night, and it didn't make it any better seeing the state she was in.

"This can't be real," Quinn hung her head in her hands, her cheeks warm from her own tears, "That did not just happen."

"It did babes, it did," Ellie listened to Quinn as she was going through the order of everything in her head. When she talked about Marcus, Ellie knew that Quinn still felt guilty, despite all the times that people had assured her that it wasn't her fault. Even after being in therapy, Ellie knew that Quinn wished it was different. She seemed to cry forever, until she fell asleep with her head against the window. Ellie took the opportunity to call Nick.

"How is she?" He asked almost immediately.

"She's asleep. We're almost back at the apartment. How is he?"

"I have no idea, I drove separately so I could follow you back, but when I left him he seemed kinda pissed. I'll have to text George." Nick bit his tongue.

"So when did you find out?" Ellie asked, "That they weren't together, I mean."

"The day that she posted that shit on her Twitter," Nick explained, "Clay had been going to get her, to see if they could work things out, they were already broken up when Quinn had told him to fix their relationship."

"Then why the hell was she his date tonight?" Ellie looked at a sleeping Quinn. After the conversation they had about Clay on the way to the Streamys, they would certainly have more to talk about tomorrow.

"Because he had already RSVP-ed her name in. She was determined to go, even though she broke up with him."

"No fucking way. She broke up with him?" Ellie yelled so loud that Quinn stirred in her sleep.

"Apparently. She never made sense to me. I don't understand why he didn't chase harder after Quinn. You should've seen the way that they were, babe, they did everything a couple would, except for actually being together," Nick remembered what it was like to have Clay and Quinn all over each other, all the time.