Alright, so, yes. This is what I like to do in my free time. Write with Taylor Swift, my darling, darling swiftie. This song has been stuck in my head for a long, long time. I can see Rachel doing this to get Finn back from Quinn. And for some reason, I was undecided about the ending. So yes, read, enjoy.
Disclaimers: Don't own Glee, don't own the songs (Brand New Day – Demi Lovato, and Better Than Revenge [title]- Taylor Swift). I only own what I write, and by write I mean plot.
Better Than Revenge
1. Brand New Day
I'm gonna run so fast till I can't breathe
Come along and follow me
Let's make some noise we never did before
Rachel Berry, age 9, sat in the sand box of Lima Public School. She picked up the toy shovel and dug it deep into the sand, watching in amazement as the sand slipped slowly off the edge of the yellow plastic when she brought it back up to see. Rachel was never allowed to play outside alone. Her fathers were worry warts, always keeping a sharp eye on their only child, their prized possession. It was expensive to do a surrogate again, so they made sure to take extra good care of Rachel. Needless to say, she was spoiled. Down right spoiled. Rachel got anything she wanted. She wanted singing lessons, so they started her as soon as she started speaking. She wanted dance lessons a few months ago and they hired the best dance teacher in Lima. Rachel had the good life. Her fathers never wanted to see her frown.
She dropped the shovel and dug her hands into the small pile of sand that she made. Her head tilted in awe when she felt the temperature difference against her skin. The sun was beating hotly down, so the coolness in the sand pile felt nice for Rachel. Her fathers wouldn't be pleased that she had gotten dirt under her nails, or stained her pink dress. Rachel brought her hands out and reached for the red pail that some child had left behind. Silently thanking them, she began to dig sand into the bucket with her hands, the yellow, plastic shovel being forgotten beside her. Rachel began to hum a song that her fathers sang to her every night when she went to bed. Sometimes, if Rachel was in a good mood, she'd sing along. But that was in the comfort of her own bed. Not in public. So she'd stick to humming. But some day she wanted to be famous.
"La la la.." Rachel spoke finally to herself, patting in the sand tightly, tucking more dark sand in the cracks at the side. Rachel's dad's had allowed her to watch Treehouse, a television channel that was very charismatic about life. When one day they were playing around, they made a weird structure that fascinated Rachel. They called it a sand castle, and Rachel planned on making one. Rachel took the shovel and whacked it against the sand in the bucket like she'd seen on the television. Rachel tossed the shovel behind her and grabbed the bucket. "Turn over..." She mumbled and quickly turned the bucket over. Rachel expected herself to succeed. As she turned the sand over, it all poured out on its own, being dumped out on the rest of the sand. A large frown grew slowly on Rachel's face.
She swiveled her torso around to grab the shovel and quickly turned back. Rachel began her hard task of getting the sand packed well in the bucket again. This time, she beat the shovel harder against the sand, using her hands to dig deeper into the sand box for darker and moister sand. Rachel stuck her tongue out the side of her pink lips in concentration, setting the shovel down and lifting the bucket again. She gave a determined grunt and swiftly turned it over, slamming it into the sand. Rachel kept her hands on top of the bucket, covering it completely. She closed her eyes, counting to three in her mind. Rachel's hands traveled to the sides of the bucket, eyes still closed, and Rachel lifted it up slowly. Her eyes peeked open and she let out the breathe that she was holding. There stood a perfect looking sand castle. All she needed was rocks and sticks to make a flag and a moat.
Rachel was too busy digging in the sand for bigger rocks to notice the shadow that had been cast over her tiny frame. Rachel stopped immediately when the beads of sweat that were forming on her forehead stopped. Sitting up straight, Rachel turned and seen a small boy, about her age standing over her. "Whatcha doin'?" He asked innocently, sitting next to her. His eyes watched the sand castle, then they flickered up to Rachel's face.
"Makin' a sand castle. I seen it on the television and my daddies said I could come play with Barbra." Rachel said, not looking at the other boy. As far as she knew, boys had cooties and that if she touched them, she'd get ill. Her daddies told her to stay far away from them. They'd punish her so bad for this. Maybe even Barbra, Rachel's imaginary friend. The boy nodded.
"Why are you playin' with my toys?" His hands reached out and grabbed the shovel and bucket, hugging them close to his chest protectively. Rachel's eyes darted to the toys in his hands. She frowned sternly at him and crossed her arms.
"They not your toys! I found them!" Rachel reached out, making grabbing motions at the bucket and shovel. The boy laughed and turned the bucket to see the bottom of it. There was a name scrawled in black sharpie. It was faded slightly, but it could still be read if someone were to actually try hard enough. Underneath the name was an address that was slowly disappearing as well. The numbers couldn't be made out properly, but the street name was clear as day. The marker was scratched and scruffed up. She didn't notice the name on the bottom until the boy pointed it out to her.
"Look! It says my name: Finn Hudson." The boys' finger followed the letters on the bottom of the bucket. Rachel rolled her eyes. It was obvious that this boy couldn't read. Well, not that well. Rachel tapped his shoulder and took the bucket.
"Are you stupid? This does not say Finn Hudson. This says Rachel Berry. See?" She ran her fingers along while speaking her name like the boy, Finn, did. Rachel smiled smugly at him, grabbing the shovel from his hand and went back to building her sand castle. Finn began to pout, his bottom lip sticking out and quivering slightly. Rachel didn't notice, she didn't even look his way again. Finn watched Rachel work the shovel into the sand again and dump the dark brown sand into the bucket.
"You're mean!" Finn stood up and walked away. Rachel's eyes watched as he left. She just shrugged and kept playing with her new toys that she had. Rachel repeated the steps that she did before and dumped the sand out to make yet another perfect sand castle. Rachel smiled proudly. She grabbed two fair sized rocks and gently pressed them into the side of her sand castles. She got a few twigs from underneath her and imprinted them into the side, leaving marks in the sand. Rachel poked one twig in the top of her first made sand castle, and the other in the top of the one next to it. Her own castles that she made herself. Barbra would be proud of her if she wasn't swinging on the swings. Her head snapped up, hearing her name being called from the distance. She seen her two daddies, running towards her.
"Rachel!" They reached her and Leroy scooped her up in his arms. "Rachel Barbra Berry, what have we told you about going near boys?" Rachel pointed to the sand castles on the ground. Leroy ignored her pointing finger and began to walk away.
"Daddy, wait. My toys!" Leroy motioned to Hiram to get the toys. They all began to walk back again, Rachel resting her head against her dad's shoulder, looking longingly at the sand box, wishing and wanting to go back and play. She wanted to feel the cold of the wet sand that hid under the dry sand. Rachel loved the fresh air and the feeling of grass on her bare feet. She wanted to go back and argue more with that boy, Finn was his name. She would have to come back again. And maybe her daddies would be more understanding. Maybe they would let her speak to Finn. But for now, that would have to wait. Her daddies were taking her back home where she'd be forced to play Barbies with Barbra. Rachel closed her eyes and hid her face in Leroy's shoulder, wondering what they would think if they found out about Barbra.
The red bucket and yellow shovel were being swung back and forth in Hiram's hands, the name visible to anyone who walked by: Property of Finn Hudson.