Chapter 1- The Coolest Girl

"Rachel! Rachel, please stop!" Finn shouted, running down the empty halls of McKinley, trying to catch up to his girlfriend... who had just been slushied by two football players. Rachel just continued to cry and run towards the choir room. Eventually, Finn had caught her.

"Rachel, now you listen to me-"

"No! Didn't you hear what they said? They called me worthless! That my dreams are stupid and i'll never go anywhere! They laughed in my face and covered me in high fructose corn syrup!" Rachel ranted, flailing her arms. Finn grabbed her hands and held them.

"You of all people should know that you are going places. Don't let some ignorant jocks get to you. You're a star," Finn said softly. Rachel let go of his left hand and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"No, I'm not. Things were supposed to be different this year. We're seniors now, Finn... But nothing has changed. I'm still a loser."

"No, you are not," Finn murmured, looking directly into her eyes. "You're the coolest girl I've ever met."

"Me? Cool?" Rachel gave a painful and forced laugh. Then, a thought popped into her head. She turned on her heel and walked quickly down the hallway. Finn watched her go, a bit confused as to why and where she was headed.

Rachel's mind was buzzing, so her feet led the way to the auditorium. She stood in the main doorway and look out at the audience.

"All my dreams
I'm chasing after,
they don't need
all this laughter..."

She walked along the center isle and let her eyes wander to the stage.

"I take a grain of salt,
stiff upper lip.
It's not their fault
I'm not as hip.
Wake up kid, you know you're more than this...

I'm more talented then
Anyone I've ever met.
So why do I allow myself to
possibly forget."

She hopped up on the stage and sat on the edge, singing out to the empty house:

"There's so much I know how to do,
so much more than all of you.
The only thing I wish I knew
was how to make them see
the girl that I can be..."

Rachel pushed herself to her feet and stormed to center stage, right under the main spotlight.

"I am
the coolest girl in the whole wide world
I know it
but can't show it at all.

I am
sick and tired
of low, not higher
places, where I should belong.
It's about time I proved them wrong..."

What she didn't notice was that Finn had snuck in. He watched her, smiling to himself, from the back corner of the auditorium.

"So give me a shot
to show what I've got!
I'm a hell of a whole lot more

than this frizzy hair,
these frumpy clothes I wear,
though I rock 'em like nobody you've seen before!"

Rachel began to twirl around the stage, grinning more brightly than she had in days.

"'Cause I am
the coolest girl in the whole wide world
I know it
below it all.

I am
done with losin',
on with choosin'

the coolest girl on the face of the planet,
the coolest bitch on earth, goddammit!
The coolest chick you've ever seen or heard!

So you can try to bring me down,
but sorry guys, I'm stickin' around!
I've thought about it, and I've found

that I am
the coolest girl!
... Yeah!"

Finn applauded and cheered loudly, startling Rachel.

"Finn!" She shouted, blushing vibrantly. He ran up to the stage and walked up to his girlfriend.

"I told you you're the coolest girl," he winked. She simply laughed in reply and gave him a peck on the lips. Finn carefully took Rachel's hand and escorted her out the stage door.