Okay this is going to be my first multi-chapter story on this site so hopefully it goes well. This has been playing around in my head for awhile now so I decided to write and post it. Hope you all enjoy.

JJ

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any of its characters, I just borrow them and try to bring light to a ship that deserves so much more than it was given.


The sun was high overhead, signaling the days proximity to mid-day, by the time they had everything loaded into the large, overbearingly red, moving van. It'd taken them longer than expected, even with the help of the two burly men that were hired to help pack and unpack the van once they arrived at their new house. It didn't help that the Muscles -as she kindly nicknamed them- were slightly incompetent, dropping boxes and dinging the furniture carelessly off of almost every door-frame in the house. The look on her mother's face hardened as the morning wore on, noticing that her kind words of warning were falling on deaf ears. It was surprising that her dad hadn't intervened and fired the two men hours ago, he was decidedly more outspoken than her mother on these matters. But she supposed that it would've been hard to replace the men on such short notice and they were already on a tight schedule; moving their entire lives across the country in a single weekend was slightly stressful without the added headache of searching out an alternate moving company. If they hadn't done this a dozen times over the past ten years she was sure her parents would've been blowing a gasket on the increased hassle the two men were adding to the day.

Brittany Pierce looked up at the two-story house she'd lived in for the past eight months. It'd been one of their longer stays and one would think that it would hold at least a tiny amount of sentimental value to the teen. But as she looked at the pale yellow siding and white shuttered windows she found that she wasn't sad at leaving the house behind; house being the operative word. It had never been a home to her and, she supposed, that was a good enough reason as any for her lack of emotional attachment to the sunshine colored structure. It had been so long since she'd felt at home. She was beginning to think that maybe she'd forgotten how it was supposed to feel, or at least forgotten how to get to that feeling.

Her attention was drawn sharply back to the moving van as one of the men slammed the sliding door down hard. The door bounced on impact, letting out a loud clang of disapproval, before it settled and almost instantly there was the sound of something shifting and then something, sounding unfortunately very glass-like, breaking. Brittany winced, hoping it wasn't anything important, although that was almost impossible. They moved a lot and the things they dragged with them from city to city, although mostly insignificant to her, held sentimental value for her parents.

The man cringed as he latched the door and padlocked it closed in a rush. His eyes went wide as he turned to see Brittany frowning at him, obviously having heard the same thing he had. Brittany noticed his eyes darting toward her parents in apprehension, who were just exiting the house after their final sweep, making sure nothing was forgotten. The man's eyes connected with hers again and she shrugged her shoulders at him. What was done was done. Muscles One smiled at her in thanks, or apology, she wasn't sure, she didn't really care which. Her parents would find whatever had been damaged when they unpacked at their new abode. She didn't need or want either of her parents worrying over anymore irrelevant delays, especially her mother. She might actually demand to find out what shattered before leaving, and Brittany just wanted to get on the road. This day was moving at a snail's pace.

A few couples were milling about the front yard, creating a grating humming sound, like wing beats of swarming insects, with their lively chatter. As her parents came forward after locking up the house they took turns shaking hands and giving hugs, exchanging false smiles, and promises to keep in touch. Brittany turned and strode inconspicuously towards her family`s SUV, leaning against the vehicles shiny silver paint job. It wasn't a brand new vehicle but her father kept it in good condition. He took pride in his appearance, which included not only the tailored suits he wore but both the vehicle he drove and the house he lived in; taking diligent care of all for appearance sake.

She watched as her parents exchanged pleasantries with their neighbours and her dad's colleagues. She couldn't recall hardly any of their names. The Patterson's, of course, had lived next door and their daughter, Hailey, had gone to school with her, but she couldn't find names for any of the others crowding her former front yard. She was sure the man with the bad comb over was Bob or Brad, something along those lines. And even though a few well wishers had brought their children, whom most she recognized from the halls at school, she had never really learned their names, them having not been in the same classes as her.

Finally her mother was able to detached herself from the swarm and made her way toward the vehicle as well, unlocking the SUV as she got near. Thankful, Brittany pulled the rear door open and started to slide into the leather seat.

"Brittany." Her mother's voice stopped her, just as she was shutting the door. She waited, until her mother's blond hair and pale face came into view over the top of the SUV's door frame.

"Yeah?" she asked giving her mother an innocent look. Her mother glared rather disapprovingly at her, blue eyes sharply connecting with Brittany's soft ones.

"Aren't you going to say goodbye?"

"To who?" Brittany replied slowly, wondering who her mother could be referring to. She didn't have anyone to say farewell to. She hadn't made any friends this time around. Well, really she hadn't made friends at any of their past few stay-overs. It wasn't as if they ever stayed put for the long run, so why bother trying to make lasting relationships anymore; they would just end in a few months and she'd be forgotten by everyone the next week anyway.

"How about Hailey?" her mother mentioned. "She's been our neighbour for a year, Brittany. The least-"

"Eight months." Brittany cut in quietly.

"What was that?" Mrs Pierce asked, leaning further over the car door, getting closer in order to hear her daughter's whispered words. Looking up Brittany met her mothers gaze.

"It's been eight months, not a year." she stated simply.

"Brittany," she warned, backing away once more to fix Brittany with a stoney glare, harder and colder than previous.

Brittany's eyes rolled before she could restrain herself but pushed herself out of the car's comforting refuge a second later. Her mother's features relaxed, frown lines disappearing, as she smiled at her before stepping back from the vehicle.

Brittany didn't move away from the vehicle but remained leaning slightly on the door, still blocking her partially from view, peering out at the unwelcome crowd like a wary meerkat, ready to dash back into the burrow's safety at the first sign of trouble. She looked to the front yard where her father was saying his last goodbyes to Brad, or was it Ben? Turning her attention to the dark haired girl, who was a year her junior, Brittany could tell by a glance the girl was not in a good mood. She was wearing a white tank top which had been cut off at an angle, frayed tassels from the jagged cuts brushing the exposed sweep of smooth tan skin, starting at her ribs on her left to just above her hip bone on her right. She wore light blue short shorts, and although Brittany had always sort of thought the girl dressed a little on the slutty side -like seriously, could she be showing any more skin if she tried?- Brittany couldn't blame her today. Glancing to the clear white-blue sky Brittany was forced to accept that the sky was going to remain cloudless for the foreseeable future which meant the heat was only going to increase and, slutty or not, she found herself actually agreeing with the brunette's choice of attire for once. Maybe it was ingrained in the girls who grew up here. Now that Brittany took the time to think about it, the girls in her school did tend to under-clothe themselves rather than over-clothe. Must be the heat, she figured.

As the sun beat down on her face, Brittany felt a few beads of sweat make their way from her brow, trailing down her left temple and along the side of her cheek, coolness following as the liquid evaporated off her skin. Regretting her choice of jeans immediately as she felt a whispered breeze caress her face, lifting a few loose strands of hair that had fallen from her pony during the morning and cooling what moisture the sun hadn't already stolen. She could feel her jeans constrict on her thighs and calves and she imagined the feel of the breeze cooling her legs, that is if she had opted for Hailey's fashion instead of her own.

At her mothers, oh so subtle, cough Brittany turned her attention back to Hailey, knowing her mother had caught her in a tangent. Hailey didn't look very impressed, she was staring blankly around the front yard and was frowning quite noticeably, even from a distance. Her arms were crossed against her chest, in stubborn defiance, and she had her hip cocked to one side as her feet shuffled aimlessly against the grass every few seconds. Obviously she was forced to be here against her will, a feeling Brittany was no stranger to. Just because her parents were all for making friends with absolutely everyone they came in contact with didn't mean that she was eager to become friends with their children. Her and Hailey had been forced into each others company constantly as both of their parents were fans of social barbeques. But even though they were thrown together almost weekly for the past few months of summer vacation, Brittany could only remember having a few conversations with the girl. It wasn't as if she didn't like the girl well enough, it was just that she wasn't interested in having any friends. It was easier with no attachments.

Hailey must have felt Brittany's eyes on her because she soon turned her attention away from the white fence surrounding the yard, which seemed the most interesting object in the girls vicinity even with the exuberant crowd surrounding her, to Brittany. Brittany raised her hand, which was resting on the door in front of her, and gave Hailey a small wave which was returned with a confused glare. Sighing, Brittany shrugged her shoulders and jerked her head in a quick birdlike fashion towards her mother, who was watching the interaction between the two girls. As Hailey's eyes darted over to Mrs. Pierce and back to Brittany, understanding dawned on her, and she pulled her left arm out of where it was still crossed protectively across her chest and returned Brittany's wave.

Brittany then turned to her mother and gave her a toothy Cheshire cat grin before quickly dropping back into the vehicle and closing the door sharply behind her. Once safely inside she watched through the front window while her mother pursed her lips before giving up and turning to speak with the Muscles who were leaning up against the back of the van annoyed, obviously sharing Brittany's opinion about getting on the road.

Brittany pulled her iPod out of her purse beside her and quickly pressed play as she pushed the ear buds into her ears. As the rhythmic sounds filled her head, she closed her eyes and leaned back into the leather behind her. At first content in her little burrow, it didn't take long before she was well aware of the stifling hot air inside her 'safe haven' but she was not about to exit the vehicle again. If she sat here long enough her parents would get the clue to join her, she was sure. Instead, she opted to remove the thin button up pink tee that she had draped over her shoulders early that morning, leaving her in a plain white tank top. She smiled to herself, debating if she should imitate Hailey's look all together and rip her tank to match. Thinking better of it in the end she leaned back against the seat once more, wincing at the sharp burning sensation on her shoulders as scalding leather pressed against newly exposed, heat slicked, skin this time around.

She wasn't fully aware of how long she'd been sitting alone, sweat trickling down not only her brow but her arms and chest as well, but somewhere between song four and five, she guessed, her mother slipped into the front seat and not long after that her father was seating himself behind the wheel. She felt more than heard the vehicle start up, engine rumbling from its slumber, and soon they were moving.

Finally! She opened her eyes to turn the rear climate controls on high, the air conditioning taking a few minutes to turn cool, but as soon as the vents breath switched from hot and humid to a slightly more bearable dry coolness, Brittany sighed and relaxed, still listening to her music and closed her eyes once more.

After a few minutes and a couple turns, where Brittany's body was jostled back and forth, she opened her eyes and tilted her head towards the window. She watched disinterested in the houses they passed. A couple of the yards had people mowing their sun-burnt grass or working in their gardens. Some had younger children running around and playing on the front lawns, but most yards were vacant. She didn't blame the people who were more than likely staying in their cool homes, it was boiling out today. As they came to the stop sign at the end of the street, Brittany turned to look out the back window where the moving van was following, the skin on her shoulders ripping slightly, disconnecting from the leather seat, and Brittany gasped at the unpleasant feeling. She saw the two men in the cab, one obviously driving and the other was leaning back in his seat with his eyes shut.

As their SUV took off again Brittany turned her attention to look out the side window once more. They were passing by her high school, well, former high school she supposed. Through the distorting heat haze she could make out many kids crowding the grounds. Some of the jocks were playing catch with a football and other students were sitting under the trees talking in groups, all seemed to be smiling and thoroughly enjoying themselves. Brittany frowned before looking down at her watch, 12:04, lunch break was in full swing.

Brittany briefly wondered why Hailey was even at her house to say goodbye when she obviously should have been in class, but remembering the look on the girls face she remembered she'd had no choice. No wonder the girl was upset, today was Friday. Missing a Friday at school pretty much guaranteed you were missing at least one invite to a party. And Hailey never missed a party, well not a popular one at least. Brittany, herself, had never been to one, and had only been invited to three that she could remember. Something, that if had happened to anyone else would have been social suicide for them. In fact the bottom of the totem pole hierarchy, or geeks of the school, she was sure, had been to at least one party each. But Brittany was becoming a master at blending in at school, a chameleon. Middle of the pack in almost everything, she had stayed out of the gutters enough to garner her a couple invites to parties but had already come up with a fool-proof excuse as to why she could not attend. That and her ability to be friendly enough in classes, without speaking overly much, to not pigeon-hole her as a weirdo and loner with no friends, assured she stayed out of the popular kids way when they targeted the lesser beings of the school.

Sure she felt bad about how the geeks were treated, it wasn't fun to watch as they were shoved into lockers or called four-eyes and such, and if she was being completely honest with herself, seeing the tears in those students eyes did pull at something inside her, but what was she to do about it. Confronting the jocks about it would only take away her anonymity, which incidentally was her safety. How was her joining their ranks going to help them anyway? Besides she always knew that she would be gone in a few months, so why bother trying to change anything.

She briefly wondered what her new school was going to be like before she snorted in derision. She noticed her mom turn to look at her as she did so and she waved her hand as if to say 'forget it', before returning to her thoughts. Her new school would be just as superficial as the last three high schools she'd attended. Popular kids at the top included the jocks and cheerleaders, if the school had a cheer program. Geeks, nerds and just plain different kids at the bottom where they were kept in their place by said popular kids. And in the middle were the invisibles. Invisible was the safe zone and the only thing that Brittany had to worry about now was to make sure she started out at her new school as one of those invisibles, which was going to be more difficult this time around. Her last transfer had occurred during Christmas break so she had started a new semester, being able to blend in without too much trouble. This time she was arriving two weeks into the new school year, the worst time to enter into the jungle that was high school. She wished that they had moved earlier, prior to the school year starting, but that was too hopeful. Even a few weeks later would have been better. But two weeks in, everyone was still on edge. The popular kids would be back and throwing themselves into tormenting the underclassmen just to assert their place on top, a reminder of how things worked. The new students would have found some potential friends and at this point would be trying their hardest to keep them. And scared newcomers who were desperate to not be pigeon-holed as losers at a new school could be scarier and were definitely more vicious than cheerleaders if their positions were threatened.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she noticed they were coming up to the highway. She always made it a point to remember this part of their moves, the coming and going. It was how she marked the passing of time, new chapters in her life weren't separated by years, birthdays or classes, but by cities and towns. 'Bye Bye Fort Worth, Texas. Here I come Lima, Ohio.'