Disclaimer : Unfortunately, I have no rights on Glee and its characters!

A Big Thanks to Bal-Breelice09121994, my Beta !

Here I am for a type of story that I have not yet treated, a fan fiction without magic or science fiction! A great first for me but I really hope you enjoy it. This story is written around 1/3 as I publish this chapter 1!

Chapter 1: Return of New York

The end of their 11th grade was pretty good. Of course, they did not win the Nationals and finished 12th but still. It must be said that Rachel's absence greatly affected the defeat of the group. Certainly, she had the gift of annoying them with her long monologues and her irrepressible desire to get the solos, but still, we had to admit that she had a beautiful voice. A few weeks before they left for New York for the contest, she announced to them as a bomb that she would not be here. She had been admitted to a sort of training for future students of the city and therefore abandoned them.

Obviously, the news was not well taken by the rest of the Glee-Club who saw in this the selfishness of the young woman who dropped them for any visit to the city and universities like Juilliard or NYADA. Rachel had even made arrangements to pass some of her exams in advance so as not to miss anything and leave even before the end of classes. She was going to follow her dream and what mattered how they would take the news in her eyes. Even Jesse had taken it badly, when she thought he might be the only one to support it. It had definitively separated them and Finn had tried to have her back even though the mere fact of wearing her necklace in the name of the young man no longer delighted her as much as before.

Yet, they had tried to contact her at the time of the Nationals, after all they were in the same city than her! The fact of having no answer was not taken as a worry but almost as an insult to some. That's why when the fall came, everyone was waiting for some explanations even if Kurt was dying to know everything she had been living there. When they saw her arrive last in the rehearsal room, which was not her type, they all remained stunned by the young woman they found and almost rediscovered.

"Rachel! You ... Wow … It's … Wow!"

"Thank you Puck, it was very informative as a remark", said Mercedes.

"Hi", said the brunette.

It was too short as an entry for the diva Rachel Berry. Speaking in one word was not her type, it was rather the opposite. But no one had added a word after her, all looked at her and stared at her. She had totally changed her look. Her long wavy hair had spikes slightly cleared, her makeup perfectly underlined her hazel eyes. As for her outfit, it was hard to ignore the fact that it felt like she had gone from a little girl to a woman. Her beige top revealing her shoulders and adapting perfectly to her forms went totally with the tight jeans and high-heeled boots she wore. Finn could not believe his eyes and almost drooled.

"What they're trying to tell you, darling", Kurt began, "is that you're beautiful, you have to admit it."

"Thanks, Kurt." She answered as simply.

"Uh, yes, he's right, you're gorgeous, New York has done you well at what I see."

Finn's sentence had a strange reaction to Rachel, who seemed to have paused for a short while. However, she quickly resumed her wits to retreat slightly when Finn approached her and went to sit beside him more than usual by real desire. Even though holiday memories were blowing, Rachel was silent, but after all, they would not complain, soon they knew they would complain about hearing her too much.

One could still understand a few sentences here and there between the hubbubs of the whole class. Strange as it may seem, Rachel would have sworn between Santana that she would not be able to call her the hobbit with such a look. It was little like compliment but coming from one of the few people always saying what she had on the heart, it was always nice to hear even a slight compliment from Santana.

"Well, I know that last year was difficult and we lost the Nationals but I am certain that this year we will get there. Does anyone want to start this year?"

Once his sentence finished, Mr Schue's eyes turned to Rachel. It was obvious that she is rising up as she stands on the ground and that she comes to expose her talents to the whole assembly. Yet she looked away and left her place. Kurt did not pray to come forward to sing a song while gazing at Blaine tenderly:

When your legs don't work like they used to before

And I can't sweep you off of your feet

Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love?

Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks?

/0/

And, darling, I will be loving you till we're 70

And, baby, my heart could still fall as hard at 23

And I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways

Maybe just the touch of a hand

Well, me, I fall in love with you every single day

And I just wanna tell you I am

/0/

So, honey, now

Take me into your loving arms

Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars

Place your head on my beating heart

I'm thinking out loud

Maybe we found love right where we are

/0/

The rest of the song was sung by everyone, even though it was Kurt's initiative for Blaine, everyone liked to think that there was someone for whom we could sing this song thinking each word speak. Yet a certain brunette had not moved the lips once and only Santana had noticed this detail. On one side she wanted to take Rachel aside to ask what was wrong but she was Santana shit! She was Snixx and it was out of the question for her to show affection in public or in private for Berry.

"Did not you like the song, Berry? Or our interpretation was just too bad for you to join perhaps? Maybe you replaced us in New York!" Exclaimed Santana, who recognized inwardly that she had been a little hard.

Rachel arched a small smile at the corner of her face before taking a cold face that would have been more of Quinn's kind. If Santana had noticed that she had not sung it was that she had looked at her no? Well, it did not really matter to her now. She got up and stood in front of everyone, they all expected a song from her but not what would follow.

"Your interpretation was great but just to be clear in the future, no need to talk to me about New York or Broadway. I would never stay there again. I do not ask you to appreciate me or to interest you in my life. This is just a request that I hope will be respected."

Mr Schue and all the Glee Club members were shocked and now staring at the young woman.