Title: Happenstance
Author: Kashfaberry

Disclaimer: We do not own Glee.

a/n: we're taking on our first chapter fic, which is thankfully outlined and ready to be written, but we do each have our own projects at the same time, so updates may not come as quick as they should. also, this fic is loosely inspired on a klaine fic ashley found a while ago: where we went right by beautifulwhatsyourhurry on (and if you want the link for it, please PM ashley on her berrywarbler account, because she'll happily supply it to you-it's a wonderful fic, really).

Private school.

This was supposed to be the answer to the problem her fathers saw in her, the 'easy fix' to a problem that wouldn't have even been there had they spent more than a weekend a month in the same city as their darling daughter. If they had bothered to show up to any one of her numerous dance recitals, show choir competitions, drama club performances, maybe she wouldn't have resorted to such desperate measures for an ounce of attention. As it was, they hadn't, and Rachel's latest outburst of rebellion proved to have gone too far for their taste as they showed her pamphlets to a boarding school a few hours away.

"Dalton is an all-boys school," Rachel pointed out on the evening her fathers' sat her down to discuss their plans.

"Given that it's my alma matter, you might be shocked to find I know this," Leroy answered her with a slight chuckle, ignoring the attitude she'd been sporting since they came up with the absurd plan. "However, we're quite close to a majority of the Board of Trustees over there, not to mention the headmaster." The fact that they were willing to give a generous donation atop of the ridiculous tuition to keep Rachel there went unsaid as she crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at her fathers. She didn't think it was fair for her life to be uprooted so they could travel to lands far and near, rarely taking her with except for the odd trip to Manhattan during school vacations. Even then, she'd been raised with a nanny and had someone else watching over her. Once again she was left to wonder why they'd even bothered going through the trouble of finding a surrogate if they spent so little time with the child they had to fight to have.

"So this is your solution? Ship me off so you never have to see me?" She asked, tone biting and harsh and her fathers exchanged a glance before Hiram took one of her hands between his own.

"It's not like that at all. You've just strayed from the path we expected of you, Rachel, and this is the most practical answer on our question of what to do."

She fought it every step of the way during the two weeks her fathers' actually stayed in the house to process her transfer, McKinley sending her off with the best of regards, only a few actually sad to see her go. The glee club there, the one she had helped raise and prosper, had thrown her a small going away party, her best friend Quinn wrapping an arm around her waist and holding on to her the entire time.

"You may be abandoning us to live out what is probably Lopez's dream," she started, grinning at the girl in question who didn't even object from her place on Puckerman's lap, "but you're going to come home when you can, right?"

"As long as you don't think I'm going to help you sabotage the Warblers," Rachel grinned, bumping her hip slightly into the blondes with a small laugh. "After all, I am one of them now."

"Well, you know we had to instigate that rule about no traitors in the choir room," Finn said with a smile as he easily lifted her up, Rachel squealing as she was carried out of the school with the rest of the club following, Finn passing her off to Puckerman before she was placed on the ground outside her car, Tina handing her her bag so she could throw it inside the vehicle.

"I'm going to miss you guys," she said sadly, pouting a little as they all moved in to hug her at the same time, Mike and Sam elbowing one another as they tried to get closer, Quinn practically glued to Rachel's side as she whispered 'You'll get through it, Rach, you always do.'

She took Quinn's words to heart as she was driven to Westerville in her own car the next morning, Hiram fiddling anxiously with the radio as Leroy led the way in his car in front of them, Rachel pouting in the passenger seat of her own while Hiram tried to talk up the school. She didn't understand how sending her to an all-boys school was supposed to tame her from whatever scandals they felt she got up to when they were gone, but he assured her that the constant 24/7 watch on the boys there was enforced and would keep Rachel in control and back onto the path they had set out for her so many years ago. She kept a snort to herself, not bothering to ask why she wasn't being sent to a sister school or some sort - she'd looked on the website, and the closest all girls boarding school was in an entirely different state - trying to focus on the next time she could escape back to Lima and spend time with the friends she was leaving behind.

Rachel was told to sit outside of the headmasters office when they arrived while final arrangements were made inside with her fathers, Rachel huffing impatiently as she watched boys pass in and out of the main hall that she was seated in. It was like a sea of navy, with stripes of red here and there, a quiet level of laughing and talking as classes transitioned, and Rachel was not looking forward to having her own set of blazers fitted the next afternoon. She might not have been particularly fashion forward, but she enjoyed the freedom of her sundresses and sweaters that weren't limited to two colors, enjoyed that she could wear lime green or sunshine yellow and no one would think it was odd. It was stifling, almost, and she hated the place all the more for it. She was going to blend in, as much as being an only girl in a school of 500 boys could, and nothing irritated her more.

"Rachel?" her father called, and it was with a heavy sigh that she followed him into an elegant office, full of large wooden furniture, walls littered with bookcases and important looking books, an older man sitting behind the desk that seemed to take up far more space than necessary. "This is Headmaster Dickens," he introduced, the man shaking Rachel's hand as she pasted on a fake smile for him.

"Now, as I was just telling your fathers, there's unfortunately no single rooms available for you to stay in, so you'll be paired up with a roommate," the headmaster told her once she took a seat in a large chair between her two fathers, Rachel's eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"That can't possibly be allowed," she said aloud, the headmaster chuckling lightly as he shook his head.

"We're already making exceptions to allow you into our school, we figured one more wouldn't hurt," he replied with a small smile. "We've set you up to room with a charming young man named Blaine, Anderson I believe. Head of the junior class, lead soloist of the Warblers - so you'll have an ally in there once you start attending rehearsals - and a member of the boxing club."

She wanted to make a retort about how he sounded just perfect in one of the voices she used when being completely sarcastic and not wanting anyone to catch on, but Leroy caught her eye and seemed to follow her train of thought. "He's also 100% gay," he explained, Rachel's smile not falling for a second as she continued to fake the happiness she knew they wanted from her.

"Boyfriend and everything, if my links to the rumor mill are still accurate," the headmaster agreed, shuffling some papers on the top of his desk. "That doesn't mean we won't be closely watching your actions, Ms. Berry, because we will be keeping a close eye on you to make sure there aren't any problems, but Blaine seemed like the best fit."

She wanted to roll her eyes but was saved the horror of having the three men catching her as a knock on the door distracted them, the headmaster calling out a loud 'come in!' and smiling serenely at a boy only slightly taller than she was, dressed in the same blazer and slacks as every other boy she'd seen on the premises so far, hair only slightly tamed by gel and hazel eyes Rachel feared she'd get distracted in.

"Sorry I'm late, Headmaster Dickens," the boy said, switching the messenger bag he carried to his opposite shoulder, freeing his hand to shake the headmasters before turning his attention to her fathers, greeting them politely as he shook both their hands, smiling innocently in Rachel's direction where she stayed seated, clearly not impressed by his well-bred, cheerful manners.

"Not at all, class ran late again I would assume?" the headmaster asked, clearly taken in by the boys effortless smile and easy charm.

He let out a small chuckle and nodded. "AP Physics," he explained to her fathers, "it's a lot of work, but if you want to get into the best universities, you can't exactly sit back and coast."

It was the same kind of bullshit Rachel had heard come from Quinn's mouth plenty of times when her mother hounded her about being the perfect daughter she needed, sloshed out of her mind before retreating to her living room while Quinn and Rachel went through dance routines and singing rehearsals in peace once more. Something they said to impress adults, not something they actually believed. She listened silently as he ran through a list of extracurriculars he took part in, her parents draining him of every question they could come up with, asking more about his own life than they ever had her past boyfriends, or even her own. It seemed ridiculous that they pretend to care this much, and his answers seemed only too practiced, too perfect, and it served to piss Rachel off more the longer she sat there.

Finally they seemed impressed enough that they offered to help Rachel move into her dorm, her fathers each carrying a box up to the room while Blaine led the way, not yet having said an actual word to Rachel. She wondered if he was annoyed for having to give up the luxury of a double as a single, but then decided she didn't really care too much since she was being far more put out than he was. Besides, she fumed silently, he seemed far too polite to say a word if he did feel frustrated at the imposition.

Her fathers left shortly thereafter, leaving the two alone in their room for the first time, Blaine helping her move the boxes off her bed so she could put her own sheets on the mattress. "Do you want any help?" he offered, not unkindly, but she just shot him a glare.

"No," she snapped, his eyes widening in surprise but he didn't say anything, simply backed away.

"Are you sure?" he asked again, Rachel ignoring him completely as she frowned at the rather small twin mattress she was expected to sleep in. She wasn't supposed to downgrade to this until college, she thought bitterly, but pulled the new pack of pink sheets she had bought specifically for Dalton out of a nearby box regardless and began to make her bed, Blaine leaning against his desk and watching her silently, Rachel feeling his eyes trained on her. She knew she should play nice, that she had to live with him until the end of the year, but nice had never been Rachel's game, and she half-hoped if he told someone that she was a bitch, she'd be kicked out of this insane deal.

She heard him move around behind her, focused only on the menial task of making a bed she didn't want to sleep in, before he cleared his throat and caused her to finally turn around and acknowledge him. "I have to get back to classes," he said, Rachel staring blankly at him, "but I wrote my number here-" he showed off a piece of notebook paper before placing it on what Rachel assumed was her own desk, "and if you need anything, just text or something."

She nodded shortly, Blaine seeming to accept that that was the most she was going to respond before he grabbed his bag once more and exited, hesitating by the door before disappearing through it, Rachel slumping on her bed with her head against the wall once she was alone once more, biting her lip and trying her hardest not to cry.

-:-

After an hour of crying into her favorite pillow, Rachel decided enough was enough, and attempted to gather her wits and unpack more of her belongings. By the time she got to her desk, she smiled at the loopy script from Blaine and added his number to her phone, but didn't bother texting him. She wasn't up for being around people, not anyone that was around Dalton at least. At 4pm, when she glanced at the clock as she opened up a box full of stuff for the en suite bathroom only juniors and seniors received in their dorm rooms, she felt a pang of heartbreak, knowing that New Directions was moving on without her, Finn probably failing tragically at a dance step as Mike tried to move them through the choreography they needed for their upcoming Sectionals win.

It hurt, to know that they didn't really need her to win, even when Quinn texted her a video of Puck begging her to come back so they didn't have to witness Finn and Santana attempting to duet together, a smile tugging at her lips for the first time all day as she texted back a small miss you guys too.

She hadn't even realized that most of the afternoon had passed and that it was turning dark outside until she folded her last sweater in the set of drawers she had been given, the uniform she had to take with her hidden as far away from her eyesight until she actually had to put it on. She debated momentarily on giving in and texting Blaine to ask where, exactly, she was supposed to get food from, but opted for a shower instead, changing into her pajamas afterwards even if it was still early evening.

She had a tendency to sleep in as little as possible, often getting hot in the middle of the night, but figured for now she'd settle for an old tee from their venture to Nationals the previous school year and her favorite gold star boxers. If they were going to have to live together, Rachel was going to have to be comfortable, and there was no use wasting time in easing Blaine into her insanity.

Still, she felt a little bad when he blushed red when he walked in, a styrofoam container in hand that he held up for her. "You didn't text me, and I'm not even sure what you eat, but there were French fries at dinner and everyone loves those."

"You brought me food?" she asked, pulling her legs underneath herself and taking the container from him before he dropped his own school bag on his bed, loosening the tie he wore under his blazer.

"Did you want to starve?" he asked bluntly, and Rachel just smiled in response.

"Thank you," she said after a moment, swirling a fry around in ketchup before glancing at her desk where she still had a few photos to put up, not to mention her favorite poster. She hadn't yet figured out where she was going to put them, but Blaine broke her reverie with a simple question, turning her attention back to him as he hung his blazer on the back of his chair, the simple white button up he wore underneath it framing his body in a way that Rachel could objectively appreciate.

"What exactly did you do to wind up here?"

She chewed on her lip slightly, deliberating for a moment. She could have made up an elaborate lie, but Blaine was going to end up knowing her whether she wanted him to or not, and in the end the truth won out as she started telling her story. "My dads - they're not around often. Which means that when my glee club-"

"The New Directions, right?" he interrupted, much to Rachel's chagrin, but she nodded.

"Yes," she answered calmly, placing the half eaten container of fries on her desk and began to placing the photo frames she had around the various surfaces as she continued talking, "whenever they wanted to throw a party, it only made sense to do so at my house. No parents, plenty of alcohol, the perfect situation."

"Any teenagers dream," Blaine agreed as he snagged one of her fries.

"But they came home during one and decided enough was enough, and here I am." He tilted his head, shaking his head as if he didn't really believe her.

"Kids throw parties all the time. There's more to it than that," he said, and she just sighed in frustration as she placed the last photo on her nightstand, of her and Quinn and Puck and Finn all standing in front of the Stairs to Broadway from their adventure to New York the spring previously, smiling sadly at it before sitting on her bed to give him the whole story.

"This wasn't a tame party," Rachel explained, and he sat and listened as she gave him the whole 9 yards - how Puck had come up to her and asked when they were going to throw another party, even if it was just for their group, how Rachel had given him the date when she knew her parents wouldn't be home - they hadn't been set to arrive to the next day, and she had plenty of experience in knowing how to clean quickly and proficiently. How it had gotten out of hand quicker than normal with Artie, Sam and Santana lighting up in one corner of her basement, Blaine's eyes shooting up in surprise at that statement as he asked her if she smoked. "Of course not," she replied, annoyed at his interruption, "any sort of smoke could ruin my lungs. I wouldn't do anything to risk my voice."

"Of course," he said by way of apology, "continue."

And so she did, going on to explain that her fathers had walked into their backyard at the sound of noises from their hot tub only to find Brittany and Puckerman fucking in the hot tub; Finn, Mike, Kurt, Tina and Mercedes doing shots of their most expensive liquor in the kitchen and finally landing on Rachel making out with Quinn in the living room.

"Your two gay dads got mad at you for making out with a girl?" he questioned with confusion, Rachel rolling her eyes as she moved to pick up her favorite poster that she had brought with her, trying to figure out where she wanted to hang it.

"Don't be ridiculous," she scoffed. "I think they were probably more upset to walk in on their daughter with her top off and her friends hand up her skirt." Blaine paled a little at that, but she simply held out her poster in an attempt to ask for help, climbing up onto her bed in order to hang it above the furniture.

"That would be a bit disconcerting," he agreed, holding her steady by her calves as she attempted to even the edges of her poster. "Do you usually make a habit out of kissing girls?" he inquired as she taped down one corner, tongue between her teeth as she focused.

She raised an eyebrow and shook her head, "Quinn and I are just friends who occasionally fool around when we're drunk or bored," she answered, grinning as she noticed him glance up her shorts, even if it was unintentional. "I tend to border on straight, most days," she finished, "so we're supposedly batting for the same team."

"Supposedly?" he asked, looking more confused than he had all evening.

"Well, let's just say that I probably wouldn't have been as subtle as you are about looking up girl's clothing," she teased gently, his face flushing red as he let out a small chuckle.

"I promise I didn't mean to," he told her, and whether it was truth or lie, she honestly couldn't tell as he helped her off her bed, poster perfectly in place. "But I have a feeling you'll get along perfectly with Sebastian."

"The mysterious boyfriend?" she inquired, Blaine nodding by way of answer as he moved to his side of the room to work on his homework, Rachel grabbing her phone to text her friends. But even as he started humming quietly to himself, a song she couldn't quite place, she thought Blaine might not be nearly as insufferable as she had imagined.

we write, you read, you review, we'll write more. ~ Ashley and Kira