A/N- I'm back with a new AU story! I have no real knowledge of making it in the music business, and Google will only tell me so much. Please go with me on it. AS I was writing this, I decided that it works better as a multi chapter. The good news is that, as of right now, it is 95% written, so updates should be happening regularly.

Thanks RedAmbition for all the hand holding and overall support. She is the wind beneath my wings. She also has a story in progress and its amazing. If you haven't yet, you should check it out.

I do not own Glee or its characters nor do I own the music used. This is purely for fun.


Rachel Berry was going to be famous.

She knew it, she always has. Ever since she was a little girl, she told everybody that one day they would be paying to see her sing. Most people didn't believe her, they would only pat her head and tell her she was cute. When she attended high school, she maintained the inevitability of her stardom to anybody who was in earshot.

The reaction was less than welcome. High school had been brutal for her. It turns out that nobody cares how good of a singer you are. If you were less than popular, a slushie facial was likely to be a part of your day. The hockey and football team along with the cheerleaders spent time tearing down those around them and even though Rachel had stopped bragging about her abilities at school, her desire to one day be famous never wavered.

Rachel had met Santana her sophomore year of college and the two girls became close. When they were juniors, they had met Sam and Blaine and the four of them began toying with the idea of starting a band.

Here they are, three years later, waiting backstage for their cue to go on stage. She wasn't famous, but she knew that she was on her way. 'The Titans' were gaining popularity locally and they were being asked to play small festivals and parties more often than any other band she knew of.

They were going to make it. She had no doubts about that.

She took the stage, her fellow band mates close behind her, while the festival crowd applauded politely. She took her spot behind the microphone as the band began to play the opening notes to one of The Titans original songs.

Come out of the shadow

Step into the light
This could be the moment
Are you ready to fight?...

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~

Finn Hudson smiled as he watched his best friend Noah Puckerman (Puck, as he liked to be called) bounce around, excitedly pointing out scantily clad women wearing short shorts and tank tops. There were plenty of them. Finn didn't mind looking, in fact, he quite enjoyed it, but unlike his friend, he had no intention of hooking up with any of them. He just couldn't bring himself to take home a different random woman every night.

They were currently walking around a large outdoor festival of sorts. There were a few carnival games and rides, a Ferris wheel, some food booths scattered around a large grassy area outside of the city. Most of the carnival games were rigged and the food was all deep fried, but there was a small stage set up in the center of it all.

That's why they were here. The music.

He and Puck had always enjoyed listening to live music and they had found small festivals to be some of the best places to find it. The acts were often talented and largely unknown, giving them a musical head start if any of the groups ever got famous. Finn enjoyed sharing the usually unheard music they found and Puck wanted a chance to say that he had been with famous musicians before they were famous.

They had been at the festival most of the day and for the most part, the bands that had been on so far, had not been great. Puck was ready to call it a day and pick out a lady friend to call his own but Finn insisted that he could wait. There was only one group left anyway.

"This place is loaded with hotties; I told you LA was the place to be." Puck said while pointing at a small group of half-naked girls.

Finn chuckled, "Dude, stop pointing! I see them. Pay attention, they are about to go on stage." Finn stretched his legs out on the patch of grass they had claimed as their spot several hours ago. It was towards the back of the available seating area and mostly out of the way of the heavy traffic flow so that they would be able to watch and listen with minimal interruption.

"What's the name of this group?" Puck asked as he sat next to Finn in the grass.

Finn looked at the schedule. "Uh, it says 'The Titans'" The crowd began to applause politely almost as soon as Finn said their name.

Puck dug in the small cooler that was sitting next to him and pulled out the last two cans of cheap beer. He tossed one to Finn and cracked open his own. "Here's hoping they don't suck." Puck held the can out to Finn, who bumped it with his own, and they took a sip as the band took the stage.

The two men shared a look when they saw the group enter the stage. The Titans had some good looking musicians.

"That one," Puck declared, pointing at the stage. "The blonde. She is coming home with me tonight."

Finn snorted. "Good luck with that buddy." Puck was always saying things like that, though it rarely ever worked out that way. Before he was able to say anything about it though, the lead singer's powerful voice began to echo around them festival grounds. Finn watched in complete awe as the stunning brunette took control of the stage. She worked the stage like a pro and her voice was exquisite. She had long dark brown hair that had a slight curl to it. Her bright blue shirt had a peek-a-boo cutout just below the neckline, revealing just the right amount of cleavage, and was tucked into a pair of short shorts. Between the bottom of the skirt and the top of the black calf high boots, her legs seemed to go on forever. Finn liked what he saw, but he liked what he heard even more. "Whoa. They are good."

"They are. And they aren't ugly either."

"Definitely not," Finn agreed.

They watched as the band played song after song, making sure to show appreciation for each song. Each of the men found that they sat a little taller as the lead singer introduced each member of the band, letting each one take a turn to show off a little when their name was announced.

"Put your hands together for Sam, on lead guitar!" The brunette announced, pausing to let the crowd cheer him on as he played a short solo. When he was finished, she turned her attention to the keyboard player and gestured to the curly haired man, "Blaine on keyboard!" She paused for his turn and then gestured to the gorgeous, sultry Latina on the other side of the stage, "Santana on bass guitar!" The clapping gave way to cat calls and whistles as the crowd cheered on the woman. Giggling at the typical reaction to the bombshell, the lead turned her attention to the drummer, "Our drummer, Brian!" The light haired man began pounding away on the drums as the crowd continued their clapping. "Let's hear it for Mercedes and Quinn, my amazing back-up singers." The crowd clapped again and the lead singer took her spot back in the center of the stage as the band began the final song of the day. "I am Rachel and we are 'The Titans,' thank you all for coming out today. Come see us again."

The girl, Rachel, began bouncing around the stage as they played their high energy last song. When the song finished, both Finn and Puck stood as the band exited the stage. "Let's go get a corndog, I'm starving."

"Sounds good." Finn put his hands in his pockets while Puck grabbed the cooler and they made their way through the booths to find some food. "That last group was good. I think they have a shot at makin' it."

Puck looked over at his friend. "Yeah, they had a good sound," he agreed, "And that back-up singer definitely has a shot at making it with the Puckasuaraus." Finn was laughing as they stopped in front of a make-shift booth and ordered a couple corndogs each and then found a vacant table. They only managed a few bites before Puck let out a low whistle. "Damn. Come on, Huddy. There are two very hot chicks looking to go home with us." Finn looked up from his corndog to look in the direction Puck was not-so-subtly hinting at while Puck was already cleaning up his mess.

"I'll pass."

"What the hell? Those chicks are hot." Finn shook his head and Puck stood, ready to go after his prey. "Fine then, more for me." He shoved the ice chest towards Finn and turned to leave. "Don't wait up."

"Great," Finn mumbled.

His friend always did this to him. Finn finished his corndog and picked up the small cooler. He walked around the booths, looked at the ride options and decided to call it a day; it was hot and he needed a shower. He walked to the parking area, passing by where the port-a-potties were lined up just outside the main area. He shook his head as he passed the long lines of people waiting for a turn. He never understood why people lined up to go in those things. They are nasty and he could find a dozen better places to use the restroom on the way home.

He stopped in his tracks when he saw a familiar brunette waiting in the horrendous line. She was shorter that he thought, of course he could only see her from a distance and she was on the stage, but it was definitely her. She was bouncing and shifting her weight from one knee to the other, it looked like she was dancing in her place in line. She must really have to go. Before he could think about it, his feet had taken him to where he was standing close behind her. Finn let out a breath and tapped the girl on the shoulder. "Ex-excuse me?" The girl whipped around, seemingly startled. "Rachel, right?"

"Um, yes. I'm Rachel Berry."

Finn rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and looked down at the ground. "Uh, hi. I, uh, saw you guys on stage. You were really good."

"Thank you, um…"

"Oh. Uh, Finn. My name is Finn Hudson."

She hesitantly smiled and held out her hand for him. "Well, Finn. It's always nice to meet a fan."

Finn took the offered hand in his, slowly moving it up and down. "It's nice to meet you too." The line moved forward ever so slightly and both Finn and Rachel seemed to realize the awkwardness of meeting new people in line for the restroom. Finn reluctantly released her hand, immediately missing her delicate touch. "Well, I'll leave you alone. You really are good. I hope I can see you perform again."

"I hope so too." He turned away from her, making his way past the ever growing line. Seriously, don't these people know how gross those things can be?

The small cooler, though mostly empty now, was weighing heavily on his arm as he made his way to his truck in slow strides. In the short walk, he had gone over the meeting with Rachel several times. No wonder he was going home alone. He had zero game when it came to women. He placed the cooler in the back and looked up just in time to see Rachel walking into the parking area; his hand slapped down on the roof of the vehicle in determination and he ran over to her. He stood in front of her slightly breathless and dumbfounded. Now what?

He saw the confusion swirling in her head. A man she met outside the port-a-potty not long ago was standing in front of her like he had something to say, but yet, he was completely silent. Smooth Hudson.

Naturally, he did the most irrational thing he could think of. He kissed her. Full on the mouth, with every bit of passion he had felt since seeing her on the stage. For the record, he felt a lot of passion.

Surprisingly, she didn't push him away or hit him. She was kissing him back. He kissed her for a few moments, until he needed to refill his lungs with air and then took a step back. "Sorry, I don't know what got into me. I just had to kiss you."

This is the part when he expected her to kick him in the chin and run off to find security. What he didn't expect was for her tiny hands to take hold of his collar and pull him in for another kiss. It was just as passionate as the first, and he returned it eagerly.


A/N- There you have it, chapter one. Over all we are looking at six or so chapters, so this is just the beginning. Reviews make me feel warm and fuzzy.