Glee was their outlet. What happens when none of them have this way to express their emotions?

Yay, second story! I apologise in advance – they'll probably all be OOC because I had a story and kinda had to shoe-horn the characters into it. For the same reason, some of the pairings will be weird.

I think this one is going to be quite long – there will be at least mention of SH/SI and EDs later on, so you may not want to read if those could be triggering to you.

Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own Glee. Only the plot.

….

Rachel sighs, settling on the single bed in her dorm room. Predictably, her Dads have dropped her off far earlier than needed for the start of her L6th year at Hummingbird Boarding school. She has already unpacked, re-arranged the furniture three times (in the process concluding there is no way to squeeze more than a square metre of floor space out of this room – unless she tapes her bed to the ceiling) and memorised the room numbers of all her friends. Or, rather, the numbers of the rooms that her friends will be in, when they eventually arrive.

Hummingbird Boarding School is a prestigious high school in West Virginia. It was originally founded by an English man, William Hummingbird, and hence uses many aspects of a traditional English boarding school. Due to this, a 9th Grader or Freshman is a 4th former, a 10th Grader or Sophomore a 5th former, an 11th Grader or Junior a L6th former and a 12th grader or Senior is an U6th former. The word "prep" is used instead of "homework" and the campus boasts its own tuck shop. The school was split into four houses; two for girls and two for boys. The girls' houses were called Sparrow and Magpie while the boys' houses were called Raven and Hawk (the school's founder had evidently decided to continue the bird theme).

After acknowledging that it would be at least another two hours until any of her friends arrived, Rachel had spent an hour on the elliptical at the school gym, showered and changed. As she brushed out her hair, Katy Perry's "oh woah" from California Gurls burst forth from her phone. Rachel dropped her brush and rushed to unlock the phone, thankful of some human contact at last.

Mercedes: Rach! I'm almost at school and guessing you'll have been there for at least a week :p Can't wait to see you :D xxxx

Rachel grinned, excited to see her best friend. The pair had spent two weeks of summer vacation in Canada together – alongside Mercedes' parents. Despite her friend's constant wish to be talking to her recently acquired boyfriend, Finn, Rachel had had an awesome time.

Rachel: Yay! See you soon :) I'm in room 53, you're 60 btw xxxx

Rachel set her phone down on her desk, and, happier now she knew she would soon see her best friend set to doing something only she would do – picking her outfit for the next day. Although the uniform was only set in 4th and 5th form (green and white checked pleated skirt with a white shirt and green jumper with white piping and the school crest), that did not mean 6th formers had free reign. They had all been told to wear "smart business wear". This was simple enough for boys; they only needed a suit and selection of ties and shirts. For girls, however, this was far more complicated. Rachel eventually decided on a black, pleated skirt (flagrantly forgetting the "at least knee-length" rule), cream pussy-bow blouse and red-pink jumper. Moving the hangers for these items to the side of the wardrobe closest her bed, she couldn't help but giggle at how different school-Rachel was to casual-Rachel.

A moment later, her phone announced another text.

Mercedes: Come down already! Xxxx

Rachel slipped the phone into the pocket of her green hoody, exited her room and walked through a maze of twisting corridors. A few seconds later, she reached a flight of stairs, and, descending them, entered a common area. A grin broke out on her tan face as she saw Mercedes sat on a plush blue couch…with Finn's arm around her.

It wasn't that Rachel disliked Finn. Well, that is maybe not entirely true. To her, he seemed to be the typical jock; rude, arrogant, a bit of an idiot all round. But, more than this, the way in which Mercedes had "procured" Finn was what bothered Rachel. From the start of middle school until about halfway through 5th form, Mercedes has been in a relationship with Artie, a perfectly sweet guy who would go out on a limb for her. Their friends had spent years joking about how they would get married straight after high school. Then, halfway through 5th form, Mercedes had started sneaking around with Finn. At first, she wasn't really cheating. They were just going for walks and talking. Mercedes confided this in Rachel, who begged her to stay with Artie until at least the end of the term, so he would have time to adapt to the change over the holiday. However, it didn't take long for Artie to become suspicious of why Mercedes was spending so much time with a guy from the year above. He confronted Mercedes, who promised they were only friends. After reiterating this for about a week, Artie and Mercedes broke up, but on very amicable terms, joking and chatting just like before they had become a couple. Everyone expected they would be back together soon. For Rachel, it had been unavoidable being friends with her best friend's boyfriend – but this wasn't exactly a hardship. So when Artie repeated the conversation he'd had with Mercedes when they decided to split – ending with his glibly pronounced "as long as you didn't break up with me to get with Finn!", she knew nothing good was coming. And, sure enough, three days later, Finn's arm was around Mercedes' waist, and Artie was heartbroken. And that doesn't even mention the other side of the story.

Finn had been with a girl in his year; the popular, beautiful, funny and smart Quinn. Rachel didn't know much about this side of the story, not knowing Quinn. But that was about to change. When Finn's hand was first interlocked with Mercedes', Quinn had not known. She hadn't known for at least two weeks. And so Quinn left for Spring vacation in tears. The Quinn who returned was different. She neglected to both turn up to class and do the prep; instead, she spent her time sneaking off campus to smoke and drink. She had done abysmally in the end of year exams – so abysmally, that she was re-taking the year. Quinn was going to be a member of the L6th, alongside Mercedes, Artie, Tina, Kurt and Puck.

….

Any reviews would be appreciated! And would be motivation for me to get on with the next chapter… ;)