Author's note: My very first real fanfiction has been tons of fun to write! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did putting it together. I'd been holding off of publishing it for a long time, but I'm quite happy with it now. Thank you for reading!

This first chapter is mostly canon exposition with a lot of auditions, but there's more schueberry in the second chapter!

-x-

Rachel Berry grinned giddily up at the sign-up sheet. Finally, the club she'd heard so much about for so long was back.

The McKinley Glee club had been disbanded after the retirement of the previous Glee coach, which happened just a year before she made it into high school. Of course, there were rumors the flamingly gay choir teacher was going to take it over. She didn't think this would do much for the club or for her own abilities- the man may as well have been deaf, seeing as he never paid a moment of attention to Rachel's talent.

Instead, Mr. Schuester had taken it over. This she supported wholeheartedly. He'd sung before at school events with little fanfare, but the man was good and, though she didn't want to admit it, pretty easy on the eyes. Plus, he was a well-liked teacher, even if half of his students were failing his class.

The other names on the list would be the problem, Rachel could tell already. She scowled at the sheet. Ignoring the many fake names scrawled on by the miscreants she was forced to go to school with, there were only four serious names. At least, she assumed they were serious. She knew all of them to some degree, but she almost hoped their names were written there as a joke.

It sounded cruel, but she meant it. The last thing she needed was a group of short-bus misfits, that would only drag her already rock-bottom reputation even lower. Sure, they were nice enough, but they were them. There was Kurt Hummel, the school's resident gay. Artie Abrams was confined to a wheel chair and she had no idea the kid had any interest in singing whatsoever. Then there was Mercedes Jones, your everyday black diva who didn't particularly like Rachel, and Tina Cohen-Chang, a social outcast who could barely speak to people, let alone sing. With an ill-hopeful scoff, she wrote her own name on the list, placing a trademark gold star sticker next to it on the line. Even if everyone else sucked, she would just have a bigger spotlight.

She put her pen pack into it's designated spot in her purse and turned directly into an oncoming wave of red. Icy, sugary syrup dripped down her face, and she blinked several times to clear the cold liquid from her eyes. Gaping, she turned to the perpetrators- two blockheaded sportaholics who laughed as they passed. Well, Noah Puckerman laughed, but that was to be expected. He'd probably laugh if he tripped an old woman down the stairs. But the other one just sort of looked at her. Not that he didn't look amused, he just didn't show it.

He also happened to be the one holding the empty slushie cup. She glared at him, turning towards the bathroom so she could wash the slushie off of her face and hair. Finn Hudson. He was your cliched dumber-than-a-sack-of-bricks football man, who, of course, happened to be dating the cheerleading captain, Quinn Fabray.

Standing in the girl's bathroom, wiping globs of red ice from her cheeks, she realized how close the Glee club's audition date was. The ninth was only next week. Of course, that wasn't a problem. She had a song for auditions of every sort that she could always fall back onto if time was in short supply. Les Mis would do nicely, and she didn't mind an opportunity to prove to her future Glee coach that she knew her way around a musical or two.

Managing to successfully extract several bits of ice slush from her hair, she smiled into the mirror. She had her audition covered.

-x-

Will sat nervously in the auditorium, wondering if anyone was actually going to show up to the auditions. There were at least a few salvageable names on the list, but only a measly couple. He tried to keep an open mind, but as the clock ticked closer and closer to 5 o'clock, he felt his hope beginning to drift.

However, at 5 on the dot, the auditorium doors swung open. A goth-looking asian girl pushing a nerdy kid in a wheel chair came in. The kid in the wheelchair was at least vaguely familiar to him, although his name slipped Will's mind entirely. Will had absolutely no idea who the girl was was, and thus assumed that she was this Tina, seeing as he knew the other girls on the he list.

"This is the right place for auditions, right?" The nerdy kid asked, looking around, as if he had expected a crowd. Seeing no one else, he shrugged and went on, "Well, I guess I can go first." To Will's relief, he said, "I'm Artie Abrams, and I'll be singing Let it Be by, obviously, the Beatles." He said this as Tina wheeled him awkwardly around to the flat space in front of the stage. The was no ramp, or any other method for him to actually get on the stage. Tina scuttled off, quickly going to Brad the pianist on stage and handing him a few pages of sheet music. Then she scurried back off and dropped into a chair near the front of the auditorium. Artie gave her an appreciative smile, then looked at Will and drew a deep breath.

When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me

Speaking words of wisdom, let it be

Immediately, Will was impressed. Sure, the notes were a little off, but the kid looked and sounded fairly nervous, despite the nonchalant attitude he tried to put off.

And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me

Speaking words of wisdom, let it be

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be

Whisper words of wisdom, let it be

The auditorium doors opened again and he heard another pair of feet shuffle down the aisle. He didn't look back as he felt it would be rude, but he heard the newcomer flop in a seat down a few rows behind him.

And when the broken hearted people living in the world agree

There will be an answer, let it be

For though they may be parted, there is still a chance that they will see

There will be an answer, let it be

Artie slipped painfully off a few notes, but for the most part, Will thought the auditions were starting wonderfully. He glanced down at Tina, who appeared to be both collapsing in on herself while also closely watching Artie audition. She seemed awful nervous. That was to be expected, of course. He directed his attention back to Artie.

And when the night is cloudy there is still a light that shines on me

Shine until tomorrow, let it be

I wake up to the sound of music, Mother Mary comes to me

Speaking words of wisdom, let it be

Let it be, let it be, let it be, yeah, let it be

There will be an answer, let it be

Let it be, let it be, let it be, yeah, let it be

Whisper words of wisdom, let it be

Artie's song ended with a nice response of applause from the few people in the auditorium. Will looked back at the person who'd come in during Artie's audition. Mercedes Jones was smiling excitedly at Artie, and looked like she couldn't wait to get up there herself. Tina, meanwhile, unfolded herself and stood, moving across the room and pushing Artie away. "Well, Tina, you're up next," Artie sang. Tina glanced at Will and mumbled something unintelligible, to which Artie replied, "Come on, that was the deal. I do mine, you do yours. It's not that bad, I swear."

Tina huffed in a way that almost sounded annoyed, but Will could tell from the look on her face that the poor girl was terrified. Nonetheless, she pushed Artie to an out of the way spot and turned, walking towards the stairs leading up to the stage.

Somewhere between Artie and the stage, Tina transformed into another person. By the time she looked back at Will, her face was hardened with resolve. Yet, her words came out as worried, nervous stutters.

"I'm T-T-Tina Cohen-Chang, a-and I'm singing I K-Kissed a Girl." The worried voice contrasted so much from the harsh face she was wearing. Will nodded and gave her a hopefully reassuring smile. "Go on ahead," he said.

This was never the way I planned

Not my intention

I got so brave, drink in hand

Lost my discretion

It's not what, I'm used to

Just wanna try you on

I'm curious for you

Caught my attention

Will's eyebrows subconsciously rose multiple times. He really hadn't been expecting the song- or the voice. The stuttering speech had become a quite loud, in-your-face singing voice. Really, he felt as if he was being yelled at a bit, but it didn't sound too bad. Still, he nodded encouragingly when her gaze wondered to him, as if for a signal, though she kept her eyes trained on the far wall at the back of the auditorium for most of it.

I kissed a girl and I liked it

The taste of her cherry chapstick

I kissed a girl just to try it

I hope my boyfriend don't mind it

It felt so wrong

It felt so right

Don't mean I'm in love tonight

I kissed a girl and I liked it

I liked it

She launched into a reprise of the chorus and ended it there. Again, there was a light smattering of applause. Artie whistled. Tina blushed and scurried back off stage, and the rough illusion was shattered. She was once again the nervous goth kid who'd come in.

Will was about to ask Mercedes what she was singing when the doors flew open again. "I'm so sorry I'm late!" A voice called. It was only 5:06, so he felt the girl was being a bit over-dramatic. Still, he replied with an easy "no problem" and turned to see the owner of the easily recognizable voice.

He should have figured Rachel would show up. The girl was in just about every singing and dancing related organization in Lima for a while. She pranced down the aisle in her white blouse and plaid skirt, as bubbly and loud as she was when talking about this sort of topic. "I'm Rachel Berry and for my audition-"

"Slow down, white girl," Mercedes said, putting a hand on her hip. "I was here first. I'm up next." The two stared each other down for a moment, Mercedes' eyebrow cocked challengingly.

"Why don't you go ahead first, Mercedes?" Will butted in, deciding to end the argument before it could break out. Rachel snapped her head around to him, her mouth open as if she were about to speak, but Mercedes cut her off.

"Ya'll know me. My name's Mercedes Jones," she introduced herself as she walked to center stage. She turned to face the tiny audience, gave them a bright white smile and announced, "and I'm singing Respect." She placed her hands on her hips again for a moment as she drew a deep breath, but immediately snapped them up dramatically as she began to sing.

Ooo, your kisses

Sweeter than honey

And guess what?

So is my money

All I want you to do for me

Is give it to me when you get home

Yeah baby

Whip it to me

When you get home, now

Will was definitely impressed. Sure, the notes were a touch off here and there, but she was a powerhouse.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Find out what it means to me

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Take care, TCB

There was another round of applause. "Good job," Will said, giving her a smile. He turned to tell Rachel to go up on stage, but she was already walking quickly down the aisle, and reached the stage steps before Mercedes did. A quick glower passed between the two girls, but then Rachel bounded to center stage, giving Will a thousand-watt smile. "My name is Rachel Berry, and for my audition I'll be singing On My Own from the Broadway classic, Les Mis."

Will heard a mumble of "crazy white chick" from Mercedes.

"Go ahead," Will said, giving her a default "good luck" smile. The piano music began, and Rachel started to sing.

On my own

Pretending he's beside me

All alone

I walk with him till morning

Without him

I feel his arms around me

And when I lose my way I close my eyes

And he has found me

Will couldn't say that he was overly surprised. Everybody knew Rachel was a good singer, and if you didn't, she would tell you. She certainly seemed very practiced.

In the rain the pavement shines like silver

All the lights are misty in the river

In the darkness, the trees are full of starlight

And all I see is him and me forever and forever

And I know it's only in my mind

That I'm talking to myself and not to him

And although I know that he is blind

Still I say, there's a way for us

She was definitely an actress. When Rachel stared up at the back of the auditorium, the expression on her face faded to an understated look of anguish. It was easy to miss, but he could tell from the way her eyebrows kneaded together and the way her eyelid drooped sadly that she was getting into the character. Every now and then, her gaze dropped back down to the auditorium floor, and the illusion would be shattered for a few seconds. Then she would stare off once more and regain her persona. Intrigued, he leaned forward, elbows resting on the table in front of him. There wasn't even a school play at McKinley. How many of these kids were hiding in the woodwork, waiting to come out?

I love him

But when the night is over

He is gone

The river's just a river

Without him

The world around me changes

The trees are bare and everywhere

The streets are full of strangers

I love him

But every day I'm learning

All my life

I've only been pretending

Without me

His world would go on turning

A world that's full of happiness

That I have never known

The auditorium was absolutely silent as she hit the big note. She squeezed her eyes shut, eyebrows high and mouth opened wide in order to lift her range. After several seconds of silence, she opened her eyes and continued:

I love him

I love him

I love him

But only on my own

Even Mercedes clapped.

"Great job," Will said, his own smile seeming pathetic next to her own excited beam.

"So," she said, voice overflowing with confidence, "When are rehearsals?"

-x-

Rachel slammed the door behind her, stomping out into the hall. She was done with Glee club, absolutely done. The rest of those miscreants couldn't understand her talent, and that was just fine with her.

This was the third time that week storming out, but she was still equally fed up.

She was sick of people telling her she was such a terrible performer. Such a terrible person. Rachel took her usual route down the hall before stopping just around the corner and leaning against the lockers, huffing angrily.

She's been choosing this place so that when the others decide to come find her and apologize, she would be nearby.

However, that had not happened yet, despite this being somewhat of a common occurrence by now. She crossed her arms, glancing back over her shoulder at the choir room door. She could vaguely her the sound of practice resuming, despite her not being there.

Well, that's fine. They could try all they wanted, but they wouldn't be able to have proper rehearsal without her talent there. Finn was getting somewhere, but he couldn't support the entire group. A dynamic vocal duo needed two people to lead. She smirked to herself and waited for the inevitable begging for forgiveness to come.

Yet, even after half an hour of sitting in the hall, it didn't come. She heard the choir door open and prepared herself only to realize that rehearsal was ending, and everyone seemed happy with how it went. In fact, they all seemed happy with each other. It was as if she didn't have to be there.

Rachel didn't give the others the benefit of a glare as a group of them passed, opting instead to look towards the other end of the hall. She heard Mercedes mutter something about "the white diva", which made Kurt giggle.

Finn almost walked past her, then stopped. "Hey," he said, a lopsided smile twisting across his face. She refused to smile back.

"What do you want?" She asked, cocking her head and pursing her lips haughtily, as if he were intruding on something important.

Finn seemed slightly taken aback for a moment. "You know, you should really give us more of a chance. I know we're not that good but we're kind of not too bad all together," he said.

Rachel took a step towards him, a vain attempt at an intimidating exterior. She barely came up to the football player's shoulder. "I can't learn anything if I'm the one carrying the entire group, Finn," she scoffed.

"Well, just give us some time or something," He said. "Look, we're trying."

"You're not trying hard enough!" Rachel snapped.

Finn was very much unamused. "Whatever. Bye, Rachel," He said, turning away from her and lumbering off down the hall.

Part of Rachel regretted sending him away like that, and the other part of her really didn't at all. Finn Hudson would never associate himself with her, anyway. She didn't know why he was bothering being friendly.

Will walked out of the choir room to see Rachel pouting against the lockers. Honestly, she wasn't horribly high on his priorities list right now, but he felt obligated to talk to her. And, as much as he hated to admit it, the club really needed her.

"You okay, Rachel?" He asked, giving her a small smile and stopping by her.

"No, Mr. Schue, I'm not," she said, looking up at him with wide eyes. "My reputation is all that I have. My talent is all that I have! If I'm not successful, then I'm not anything, and this is not a successful club!"

"It's only our fourth real practice," Will said, raising his eyebrows.

"And we suck," Rachel shot back. Then, voice quieting, she said, "I'm tired of being laughed at."

The sudden change of pace surprised him. "We'll get better, Rachel."

"Until then we're just a bunch of losers," Rachel said. Will sighed, looking away from her and to the retreating figures of the other kids. "Mr. Schue, being a part of something special makes you special. I need us to be good."

It made sense to him, as strange as it sounded. "We'll get better," he repeated. "You're the best kid in there, Rach." He saw her brighten significantly. "We'll get better faster with you there. Stay for the whole practice next time, okay?" He smiled.

He'd managed to coax a small smile from her. "Okay," she replied. He nodded.

"Then I'll be seeing you next week," He said, starting off down the hall.

"Wait!" Rachel said, matching his pace, her smile spreading to her thousand-watt grin. "I have tons of solo ideas I've got to run by you."