A/N: All characters belong to Glee. One shot. Please R/R.
Rachel was alone. She sat on the rooftop, gazing up at the stars, breathing in the summer air. It consumed her as she pulled her knees into her body. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She shuffled forwards until her legs were dangling off the edge of the roof, hanging limply. A single tear slid down her cheek as she took another breath and swung her legs awkwardly.
"Rachel!" She heard a desperate call from below, but ignored it.
She took another breath.
Rachel was alone. Or at least she felt that way. She drifted around school, from class to class, feeling more lost than ever. Sure, she had been MVP, but that had been before. Now it was different; the excitement of Regionals had worn off and the anticipation of Nationals had not begun yet. She was stuck in a kind of limbo, forever condemned to watch the sickening relationship of Finn and Quinn, as the stars of the school they swanned around as if they owned the place. And neither of them gave one look to Rachel.
She felt invisible at Glee club. It was so much effort to make herself heard. She had been replaced by Quinn for duets with Finn, and even though Quinn's voice was no match for her own, Rachel felt no desire to protest anymore. She simply sat at the back and watched the day play out, noticed by no-one.
Or at least, that's what she thought. Someone did notice her, sat alone, keeping reserved. It was most unlike Berry not to voice an opinion, every two minutes. And although it was draining to say the least, he couldn't help but miss her interjections. He watched her out the corner of his eye, sitting, so detached and meek, gazing misty eyed at the scene in front of her, seeming as though she wasn't there at all.
People pushed by her in the corridor, forgetting her existence. She was barely slushied these days; it was as though she had simply gotten lost. She was almost content with loneliness and had accepted the reality that she had been forgotten and was no longer needed. They had replaced her voice, ignored her personality and let her drift into the unknown.
In Glee Club on Friday, Brittany called out that she was having a party that night, strictly for her fellow Glee Clubbers. Rachel sat at home in her empty house for an hour or so before she decided to go. Her fathers were out of town on business, as usual and the uninhabited house felt lonelier than ever. She threw on a simple blue dress and a long cream cardigan, with her statement cream knee socks. Her clothes seemed to overpower her and made her fade even more, but this did not matter.
She left the house and walked over to Brittany's house. It was about an hour's walk in the warm summer's night as Rachel watched the sun sink and the stars come out. The party was in full swing when she arrived and the door was wide open. She approached Brittany and gave her thanks for her invitation, smiling a greeting at the other party guests. She poured herself a glass of water and sipped it delicately. No-one seemed to notice her at all.
Except for one boy.
She set her glass down and made her way upstairs into Brittany's bedroom, desperate for air in such a claustrophobic situation. Brittany's large window above the desk was surely big enough for a person, particularly someone as petite as Rachel. She climbed onto the desk and clambered out the window to sit on the rooftop.
She took a deep breath.
"Where's Rachel?" said Puck, looking around.
"Is she here? I haven't seen her!" laughed Quinn cruelly.
"Yes she's here! Did you not notice her? Where is she now?"
"Ha! Notice her? I haven't taken notice of her for weeks now…" snickered Quinn waving her hand airily.
"Dude," Mike Chang approached Puck, "She's up on the rooftop. Tina and I just saw her from the garden."
"The… the rooftop?" Puck stammered "What the hell is she doing up there?"
"Who cares?" Quinn frowned, "No-one even wants her here."
"Oh shut up Quinn." Puck roared and pushed her carefully out of his way.
He ran up the stairs, calling out Rachel's name. He sprinted into Brittany's bedroom and scrambled out the window.
"Rachel," he murmured standing on the rooftop, watching the brunette sit, swinging her legs, breathing measuredly. "What are you doing?"
She turned her head to face him and he saw two single tears drip down each cheek. He moved towards her and took her in his arms. Her whole body shook as she broke into silent sobs.
"Shh," he whispered, pulling her legs up from the edge, over his body making sure she was safely on the roof, rocking her. She nestled her head in his chest, weeping quietly.
"Oh Noah," she said softly into the material of his shirt.
"What are you doing up here?" he repeated, gently rocking her backwards and forwards.
"I don't know what I was thinking. I was just so tired of being so lost and alone. I got caught up in the stars and the summer air and lost my head for a moment and thought of jumping. Maybe then someone would notice me?" she chuckled dryly.
"I notice you." Puck said simply, lifting her head to face his. "And I'll always be there for you, even if all the rest of them are too blind to see how amazing you are, you'll always have me. You're my friend Rach,"
And that's all she needed, a friend.
Puck cuddled her tightly as she wept a little more, before laughing thickly "I've wet your shirt, I'm sorry Noah."
"It's okay Rach, don't worry about it."
And she didn't. They sat holding each other gazing at the stars for the rest of the night until he drove her home when the party was over. He walked her to her door, whispered 'Goodnight' and kissed her lightly on the cheek.
She shut the door behind her friend and smiled for the first time in weeks.
The other Glee Clubbers sheepishly apologised on Monday, after she thought Puck might have shouted angrily at them. But she did not need their apologies; she didn't even need Quinn's solo. She had Noah Puckerman, a friend, and that's all that mattered. She smiled up at him, as he came to sit beside her, and she didn't feel so lost and alone anymore.
Reviews are always welcome :)