Take a Bow
By: AndiKaneUnderwood
I don't even try to stop anymore. It just comes to me and I write it.
Rachel sobbed in the bathroom of her small home, hoping her fathers couldn't hear it over the television.
She knew for a fact that Mr. Shue was an honest man and she believed him when he said that the cheerleader was good, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt when he told her he was cutting her solo.
That was their song.
The original New Directions's song.
It belong to Finn and her, to Archie and Mercedes, to Tina and Kurt.
Nothing hurt her more than Mr. Shue giving away that song.
A knock on the door. "Rachel? Honey, there's a boy here to see you. He says he's from New Directions?" asked her Dad.
"I'll be right there, Dad." Rachel replied, drying her eyes and wiping away the traces of her tears.
She opened the bathroom door and her Dad smiled at her. "Come, he's waiting in the living room."
Rachel sincerely hopes it's Finn, hoping to apologize for coming onto him and kissing him when he was with some one else, but as she rounds the corner and meets the eyes of her visitor, her hopes are dashed.
It's Kurt Hummel.
"Hello, Rachel." Kurt smiled at her, "I'm sorry for dropping by this late, but you left this in the auditorium when you left with Mercedes and Tina." He held out her scarf and shook it a bit to encourage her to take it.
Rachel took the blue cotton and smiled back. "Thanks, Kurt."
He shrugged, "No problem. I also wanted to tell you I'm sorry for Mr. Shue cutting you're solo. That Quinn girl doesn't deserve it."
Rachel chuckled. "Yeah, something like that, Kurt." She put the scarf next to her school bag and offered her hand. "Let me show you my room. We can talk for a minute?"
"I'm sure I can spare a few moments."
Rachel led Kurt up to her room and gestured to the bed. "Sit."
Kurt sat down and sighed. "That wasn't fair, you know. Mr. Shue never should've let Quinn into the club. Yeah, she's good, but she's a cheerleader. No way in Hell anything good will come of that."
Rachel smiled, sitting cross-legged next to her friend. "Yeah, I'm sure. Nothing good has ever come from the cheerleaders I've known."
"Plus, that was our song, right?" Kurt asked, looking at Rachel. "We came together with that song and he's taking that from us?"
"Yeah." Rachel looked back down and sighed.
Kurt stood and adjusted his bag over his shoulder. "I think I should go, you look like you could use a reflection. I'll see you at practice tomorrow?" he asked.
Rachel nodded. "Definitely."
Kurt nodded and began to leave. He paused at the door, "Oh and don't worry about the solo. If Mr. Shue doesn't see the cheerleader's for the bullshit they are, then I'll take control and give the solo back to you." With that, Kurt smiled and was gone.
Rachel sighed again and went back to her bathroom.
Softly, the lyrics to a song she'd heard long ago came to mind and she picked up her hairbrush and sang.
"But you put on quite a show,
really had me going.
Now it's time to go,
curtains finally closing.
That was quite a show,
really entertaining.
But it's over now,
Go on and take a bow."
Rachel looked in the mirror and cried, not just for her solo, but for her own betrayal and Finn hurting her too.
She really shouldn't have kissed him. He was with Quinn.
It was a stupid hope and she never should've let it infect her.
"It's over now." she reminder herself, watching her tears in the mirror.
"Take a bow, Rachel. You put on a great show.
It's over now."