My second Glee story! Hopefully I did better with the characters, and I hope you like it! This is almost a Rachel vs. the Glee club kind of story. It's centered at the end of their senior year, and it talks about all the bullying she's endured, and finally, she can't take it anymore. A hint of Finchel. Enjoy!
IMPORTANT: I reuploaded this and changed the ending, based on a review I received. To moirethe – you were right about the ending, I'm just a sucker for happy endings, but a happy ending didn't fit this story or Glee in general. Thank you for the comments, I really appreciate them! :)
Rachel took a deep breath before walking into the choir room for the final time. It was the last Glee meeting before they all would graduate the following day. And Rachel Barbra Berry had something to say to them.
Her first year in high school had been hell, and the second one had been better. The third one started out okay, but soon went downhill and never came back. Finn broke up with her, Jesse broke up with her and smashed an egg on her forehead, and Puck, well, she and he weren't ever meant to be. He was the only one who had stood up for her in her last two years at McKinley. Kurt had come back after he broke up with Blaine, and Lauren had transferred to a wrestling school. Rachel didn't even know they had those.
Mercedes, well, she had been a friend to Rachel, but she couldn't keep her mouth shut. Rachel's secrets flew all around the school and ended up with more slushies in her face. She confronted Mercedes about it, and Kurt had taken Mercedes' side, along with Tina, Mike and Artie who had been in the choir room. Their insults and put-downs told Rachel what she already knew: that she wasn't wanted in Glee club. Mercedes and Tina ignored Rachel from that day on, but didn't participate in the others insults. Maybe, just maybe, that was a sign that they remembered that they were friends with Rachel once upon a time. Mike and Artie followed their example, though they sometimes told the Glee kids to back off when they got too nasty. That alone was a little sliver of sunshine in Rachel's dark, cloudy life.
Even Mr. Schue had contributed. He continued to basically ignore Rachel and never stopped the Glee kids from taunting Rachel. The only time he ever noticed her was when she said something and he yelled at her. And that was a biweekly occurrence in their junior year, almost weekly in their senior year. Eventually, she had stopped asking for solos and just faded into the background in the Glee club. And like she expected, no one noticed. Why did she stay in? It was the one place she could shine, even if she was ignored by everyone. She could practice her talent and she was already planning her Broadway debut. Rachel Berry was, if nothing else, a diva at heart.
Finn and Quinn had gotten back together after she had gotten over the sting of Sam leaving her for Santana. Of course by the end of junior year Santana dumped Sam like a sack of hot potatoes and he mourned the loss for weeks. Finn lost Quinn to Sam after Quinn kissed Sam and told Finn that she saw stars when she kissed Sam. Finn and Santana had gotten back together for a while, but he dumped her before she could dump him, just to give her a taste of her own medicine. And Finn wasn't the star quarterback that year or their senior year; Sam was. Rachel almost felt sorry for him. Almost.
Jesse came back to McKinley for the last half of junior year, but Rachel was pleasantly surprised when he didn't try to date her, he just wanted her forgiveness. She eventually granted that to him, but still he didn't ask her out, and she was glad. All she needed was a friend, and she had one until the end of junior year and he graduated. He went off to Broadway, but came back to Lima whenever he could and hung out with Rachel. That made her senior year slightly bearable.
Puck was still her friend, but his constant hook-ups and break-ups reminded her of her own shoddy love life. Brittany, well, she was nice when she could be, and bitchy like Santana when she wanted to be. Rachel was the only one who knew about Santana and Brittany's on-again off-again relationship and they both threatened her to keep quiet or else. Rachel would've kept quiet anyways, since no one in Glee was interested in what she had to say.
Kurt, well, he tried. He tried to be nice, but with Mercedes and Tina and basically the whole Glee club telling him different, he just kept on the other side of the room. He didn't stick up for Rachel, and he didn't contribute. Karofsky left him alone, because the whole school knew that he was a homophobe and warned him against hurting Kurt again. Azimio did the same, and Kurt felt safe again, and he was accepted. Rachel wasn't, and he thought she'd drag him back down into unpopularity if he became friends with her.
Rachel was surprised she hadn't committed suicide in the last few years. There were plenty of reasons for her not to want to live anymore, but there was an ultimate goal in her mind. She was going to be on Broadway and blow everyone's brains out. She'd make them regret they were ever mean to Rachel Barbra Berry.
She strode into the choir room, seeing them all cheering and holding the 1st place trophy they had won at Nationals that year. Their junior year they had made it to Nationals, but didn't win. This year, they had claimed the first prize. Her heart broke seeing them all celebrate and not including her. Mr. Schue had forced her to do a solo, the only positive attention she had received from him in two years.
Finn noticed her and pulled her into the celebration, and she was completely floored. A smile grew across her face as she felt included for the first time in years. She smiled and jumped up and down with the rest of them until she heard Santana say clearly,
"Way to finally join us, man-hands,"
Rachel froze, and she heard Finn mutter, "Don't call her that, Santana,"
And that was the final straw that broke Rachel's back, so to speak.
"Don't you dare try to defend me after all those months of letting her and the others call me names, insult my talent and put me down as a general person!" Rachel screamed, and the whole room fell silent. She whipped around, facing Santana, "Maybe you think all these insults and put-downs just slide right off of me. She's such a diva, she can handle it, right? Well how did you feel after that day in Glee that we all put you down? You bawled afterward, right? Well, take that feeling and multiply it by every single day I spend in this hell-hole of a school!"
"Rachel…" Mr. Schue said firmly, grabbing her arm.
"Don't touch me!" She yelled, facing him. "You just let them torture me. You were so wrapped up in your own problems, and your own visions of winning that you never paid any attention to me. The only good thing you did for me in the past few years is give me that solo at Nationals. That doesn't make up for the scars you placed on me by ignoring the bullying I received at the hands of this club!" His face was shocked, and she turned, facing Mercedes and Tina.
"Whoa girl, don't look at us!" Mercedes said, holding her hands up.
"Are you freaking kidding me? You started it all! I thought we were friends, and you just went around, stabbing me in the back so you could climb the social ladder. You didn't care about me, any of you, you just thought I was someone to have a laugh at. Well guess what? I'm a real person, with feelings and a heart and soul just like the rest of you. Maybe not so much anymore because you broke my heart and ripped my soul apart!"
Rachel took a heaving breath, her rage and pain clearly obvious to everyone. Puck stepped up and put a hand on her shoulder as she turned to Quinn and Brittany, saying, "Those things you posted on my myspace page, maybe you thought I didn't care, but every time I read them, I broke a little more inside. I honestly considered killing myself after reading those because I believed no one liked me. The only people who cared were my dads, and they were out of town most of the time. Quinn, you and I, we both loved the same boy, and that boy wasn't worth of either of us."
She turned to Finn, whose eyes were wide open and he was staring at her with what might have been regret. "I loved you, Finn, and I thought that you loved me. But you're such a hypocrite. The one thing I learned from you is that girls can't cheat on you with other guys, but girls can cheat on those other guys with you. You don't deserve to be happy with anyone." Her voice was quiet now, humming with emotion she'd kept bottled up inside of her.
Mike and Artie were next, and they knew it. Both of the stared at her resolutely, as if they knew what their sins had been. And they did. Rachel said with tears in her eyes, "If you guys hadn't been content to follow your girlfriend's examples, we might have been friends. I heard both of you when you tried to stand up for me. They were few and far in between, but they were still there. I thank you for that, but, too little, too late. Your cowardice was greater than your courage, unfortunately."
Puck was waiting for her to turn to him, but when she did, her voice was a little more than a whisper. "You were my only friend in here, Noah, and you helped me hang on throughout high school. There were a few moments when you made me upset and furious and annoyed, but you have a heart of gold, but you hide it. Don't."
With that, she turned and walked out, saying at the door, "Good-bye. For good." She shut the door quietly, and walked down the hallways for the last time, and that fact gave her great joy.
The next day at graduation, Rachel was one of the first people to receive her diploma. She shook hands with Figgins, and then Mr. Schue bounded up on the stage. Rachel glanced at him, and Mr. Schue whispered to the principal. Figgins nodded, and Mr. Schue turned to Rachel. "If you would follow me, please," He said quietly. She walked down the stairs, but refused the hand Mr. Schue offered her. He led her to a seat near the makeshift stage.
Finn came out on stage and cleared his throat. "This is for Miss Rachel Barbra Berry, as all of us Glee clubbers try to begin to apologize for our actions. This is for you, Rach," He stepped back as the beginning strains of "Forgive Me" by Evanescence started to play.
Mercedes and Tina stepped forward, and Mercedes sang, "Can you forgive me again?"
Tina sang, "I don't know what I said" and Mercedes joined in with "But I didn't mean to hurt you,"
Mike pushed Artie forward and Artie sang, "I heard the words come out"
And Mike sang "I felt that I would die" Both of them joined in together to sing, "It hurt so much to hurt you"
Mr. Schue took center stage and looked straight at Rachel, singing clearly,
"Then you look at me
You're not shouting anymore
You're silently broken"
Brittany and Santana stepped forward together, and both of them sang together,
"I'd give anything now
to kill those words for you"
Kurt took a few steps forward and sang straight to Rachel,
"Each time I say something I regret I cry "I don't want to lose you."
But somehow I know that you will never leave me, yeah."
Finn took a step forward, swallowing hard before looking deep in Rachel's eyes and singing,
"'Cause you were made for me
Somehow I'll make you see
How happy you make me"
Puck stepped forward, joining the Glee line as he sang passionately,
"I can't live this life
Without you by my side
I need you to survive"
Quinn and Sam stepped forward, and Sam sang quietly, "So stay with me"
Sam took Quinn's hand as Quinn stared at Rachel, singing, "You look in my eyes and I'm screaming inside that I'm sorry"
Together, all the Glee kids joined hands, first Kurt then Mercedes then Tina then Mike then Artie then Brittany then Santana then Puck then Quinn then Sam. Finn and Mr. Schue stood on either end as they all sang,
"And you forgive me again
You're my one true friend
And I never meant to hurt you"
As the last strains faded away, Finn stepped down the stairs and walked straight to Rachel. "I'm truly sorry, Rachel. I was a complete jerk and I was blind to what you were feeling. I probably didn't even care. I was wrong."
She slowly stood up and he held out his hand, offering a truce. "No." Rachel said hoarsely, and turned to the rest of the Glee club.
"Rachel," Mr. Schue said quietly, stepping forward.
"No!" She exclaimed, her whole body quaking. "That was touching, and I appreciate it. But you were sorry about everything before, and after a week or so, everything went back to the way it was before you tried being nice to me for a change. Sure, you may be sorry now, but later, you'll all forget about me. Be reasonable, this is our graduation. How many of you will keep in touch with me in a year? Two? Five? Probably none of you. I accept that you're sorry, but I can't forgive you. Not now." Rachel said with tears pouring down her cheeks.
She drew herself up proudly, grabbed her diploma and walked out, leaving her high school years and Glee club behind.
FIN
I hope you liked my second Glee story! I watched a marathon of Glee and a bunch of episodes online so I think I'm better on the characters. Let me know if something was amiss! Thanks, and thank you for reading! :)