Chapter One:
Grey had found the room with surprising ease- it was her first day, and she didn't know where anything was. She stood in the doorway of the room, and gasped. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the guitars- they were beautiful- and then to the black piano. She noticed a man standing at the piano, looking through a pile of papers. His muscular chest was covered with a button down shirt and a vest. He had short curls on the top of his head, and you could see dimples in his cheeks, even though he wasn't smiling. Grey knocked on the door, and the man looked up.
"Can I help you?" He asked.
"Yes, please. I'm looking for Finn Hudson, I have some papers for him."
"Finn will be here soon. Anything I can help you with?"
"Thanks, but no. I'm under strict instructions to give them to Finn and Finn only." The man smiled at Grey.
"You can wait for him here," the man said, "He'll be here soon. I'll be right back; I forgot to photocopy this sheet." The man started towards the door."
"One second, Mr...?" Grey called.
"Schuester. I teach Spanish and run Glee Club."
"Mr Schuester. Is there any chance I can play some guitar while you're gone? I haven't played in ages."
"You play?"
"Not very well," she admitted.
"Go right ahead," he said, "I'll run and photocopy these pages before class. I'll be back soon."
Mr Schuester left, and Grey picked up one of the guitars, and put her arm through the strap. She paused for a moment. The last time she'd played had been at Rylan's funeral, and she took a deep breath before beginning. She began to pluck the strings, and a melody formed. A few chords were added, and it soon turned into a song. "See the pyramids along the Nile. Watch the sunrise from a tropic isle. Just remember, Darling, all the while, you belong to me..." She sang the song in its entirety, and chuckled to herself when she finished.
"It's been a while," she said to herself.
"My. God," said a voice.
Grey jumped, and whizzed around. She hadn't been expecting anyone to walk in, and the three people standing there had scared the bejeezus out of her. More than that, she hated singing and playing the guitar in front of others- Grey's music was for her and her only.
"I-I'm so sorry," she stuttered, "I didn't mean for anyone to hear me, and you guys have a lesson. I'll go-"
"Hold on a second," the voice said again.
This time, Grey could see its owner. She was a bit taller than Grey, with a Cheerio's uniform on. Her brunette hair was in a high ponytail, and, well, she was beautiful. "I don't give compliments often. When I speak, it's usually to insult."
"I can verify that," one of the others interjected.
"Finn, shut your lard. But what I'm saying is... Well, damn. That was some pretty okay singing."
"Santana, that was the worst compliment ever," said Finn, and Santana shrugged. He turned to Grey. "That was amazing. You're really talented. And well, we're looking for new Glee Club members. You should think about joining."
Grey froze. She remembered the clear instructions she was given before she left home. Do not, under any circumstances, I repeat, do not. Join. Glee Club.
"Uh, I can't. Sorry, I already have a full plate. You're Finn, right? Here." She stuffed some papers into his hand. "This is from Rachel. She's sick, and can't come in, but she wanted you guys to do these songs for sectionals."
"That sounds like Rachel, the control freak," said the last person. He had pale skin, and his hair was held back with a headband. "I'm Kurt Hummel, best friend of Rachel Berry. She's sick, you say?"
"Yeah, she said she would call you if she could, but she's not allowed to speak."
"Poor thing, does she have tonsillitis again?" asked Kurt
"Uh, no. But our, I mean, her dads are sick of all the requests she has. She's got mono, so she'll be out of school for a while."
"Mono? Maybe I should get checked," Finn said, "Nah, I should be fine. Rachel hasn't kissed me since I accidentally broke her bedazzled microphone." He stood there, staring into space for a second.
"Anyway," Santana said, "How do you know The Dwarf?"
"We're, uh, neighbours. I moved in recently," Grey answered. She was panicking. These were too many questions, and if she answered wrong, then Rachel would kill her.
"Um, I should get going. I don't want to be late." Grey picked her bag off of the floor, and headed towards the door. Finn called out after her.
"Give Glee Club some thought, New Kid!"
Grey raced home as soon as school was over. She tried to sneak in and avoid her sister, but Rachel was there waiting for her.
"I got an SMS from Finn today, asking how my mono is," Rachel sneered, "What else did you tell him?"
"Nothing!" replied Grey, "I gave him the sheets, and told them we were neighbours. They know nothing."
"They better not," threatened Rachel, "Because I swear I will make your life a living hell." She bounced up the stairs, leaving Grey gobsmacked in the living room.
"I thought having a family was supposed to be a good thing," Grey muttered. Her mind wandered to when she first met Mr and Mr Berry...
Leroy and Hiram introduced themselves to Gayle, who ran the home. They began to meet all the children, the youngest ones newborns and the eldest nearly teenagers. After an hour, the men turned to Gayle.
"Are these all the children?" Leroy asked.
"Well, there's one more, upstairs. She's older than the other children; she's sixteen. Been with us since she was five. Poor thing, her parents died in a car crash, and she's just never connected to a family."
Leroy looked at his husband, who had a gleam in his eye.
"Is there any chance we can meet her?" Hiram asked.
"I'm not sure," Gayle said, "She's had a tough year, with her best friend dying and everything. She's commanded me not to let any potential parents meet her."
Hiram only had to say one word, his expression said the rest.
"Please?"
Gayle led the couple up the stairs, and knocked on one of the first doors. Someone pulled it open, and as soon as he saw her, Hiram knew that she was going to be their daughter. He squeezed Leroy's hand. The girl was tall, with hair that was almost black. Her skin was pale, and her big eyes were a soft grey/blue. She took the white headphones from her ears when she saw the adults standing there.
"Gracie, this is Mr and Mr Berry. They wanted to meet you." Gayle turned to the men. "I'll leave you three alone." Once she had left, Grey invited the men into her room. She offered them a seat on the bed next to hers.
"So, you're Gracie?" Leroy asked, attempting conversation.
"Actually, it's just Grace. But call me Grey. Gayle's known me since I was five, and still calls me Gracie. She also thinks that my favourite band is The Wiggles."
"So who's your actual favourite band?" Hiram asked, trying to start a conversation.
"Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons." Leroy and Hiram stared at Grey like she'd just spoken a different language.
"... What?" she asked, ready to act defensive, "I like it old school." Leroy burst into laughter, while his husband still looked shocked.
"Well, damn girl. I don't think anyone was expecting that." The three of them sat talking for the next few hours, about everything. They spoke of likes and dislikes, music, movies, actors, you name it. Leroy looked at his watch.
"Goodness," he said, "We better get going." He gave Hiram a look, and Hiram winked at him; they were both thinking the same thing.
"Grey, we want you to be our daughter," Hiram said. Grey stared at them both, with her best poker face.
"Why?" she whispered, "why me? Go and take one of the babies. They're not damaged. They're not moody and teenaged. They still have a chance to be normal."
Hiram stood from the bed, and sat back down next to Grey.
"Everyone deserves a second chance, Grey, even if they don't think so. We want to be your family. We want to be your parents. We want our daughter to be your sister."
"Y-You have a daughter?"
"Yes," replied Leroy, "And she's going to love you."
How very wrong he was, thought Grey. Rachel didn't love Grey, she despised her. She wanted her to stay out of her life. No telling anyone, no introductions to friends. Grey was nothing to Rachel. And she hated it.