'I know you're out of my league but that won't scare me away, oh no.'
"Trust me, Princess, you're going to love it here." Her father told her as Rachel climbed out of the car and waved him off.
She turned slowly on the spot to come face to face with McKinley Academy. The building was daunting, large and because it was a boarding school, there were many teenagers lounging around on the grass.
Rachel gripped the handle of her luggage slightly tighter as she trudged up the stairs and followed the signs to the office.
"Excuse me?" She asked tentatively as she came to the front desk where a middle aged woman was working, her auburn head bent.
"Excuse me?" She repeated, slightly louder and the woman jumped slightly before glancing upwards.
"Oh sorry, dear. Can I help you?" She asked kindly.
"Yes, I've just got here and I'm not really sure where I'm meant to be. Rachel Berry." Rachel told her and the woman nodded before typing her name into the computer using perfectly manicured nails.
"Ah I see. Well since it's your first day, you can just head up to your room and get yourself sorted. Feel free to take a look around, meet people, but lessons start tomorrow."
Miss Pilsbury, as she told Rachel, handed her a leaflet about the school, a map, timetable and dorm key before sending Rachel on her way.
Rachel scanned the room numbers as she walked along the corridor, passing a couple of screaming girls.
Rachel rolled her eyes. She thought this place was meant to be extra strict?
216, 218, 220…
Ah, 222. She slipped her key into the lock, pushing the door open slightly before walking in. She was shocked to see that two of the three beds were already made up which meant she was sharing.
A singing voice caught her attention and Rachel turned towards where the voice was coming from in time to see a tall, gorgeous girl coming out of the bathroom in only a towel.
"Oh, I'm so sorry." Rachel spluttered, spinning around.
The girl laughed before walking over to her bed and grabbing the clothes that were laying there. "Doesn't bother me, Tiny. I take it you're our new roommate?"
Rachel huffed. Tiny?
"Yes, I am. Rachel Berry." She empathised.
"Ok, I'm just going to call you Tiny. Santana Lopez." Rachel turned to see that the girl was holding out a hand and was, thankfully, fully dressed.
"Hello Santana. It may seem slightly rude of me to say but I believed that everyone was attending lessons at the moment."
Santana looked at her with an amused expression before answering.
"I've got a free period. So what's your story?" Santana asked, sitting on the bed tucking her legs underneath herself.
"My story?"
"What did you do? Everyone here messed up one way or another, that's why we were shipped off."
"I beg your pardon? I didn't do anything." Rachel insisted but Santana rolled her eyes. "What did you do then?"
"Oh, just the usual bad kid stuff." She winked and despite how loud mouthed Santana appeared to be, Rachel found herself beginning to like her.
"Well, I'm starving. How about you leave the packing for a bit, and I'll take you down to the cafeteria." Although she wanted to organise herself as soon as possible, Rachel found herself agreeing to the offer.
"So, who's the other roommate?" Rachel asked as they walked down a flight of stairs.
"That would be Kurt." Santana told her, giving her an odd look. "And he's gay so if you have a problem with that, you better tell me now."
"Oh no. Not at all. In fact, I have two gay dads." Rachel told her with a matter of fact voice and Santana raised her eyebrows.
"You just keep surprising me, Tiny." Rachel was saved the trouble of trying to work out whether she had just been insulted or not as the pair entered the cafeteria.
"It's nothing special but the food is okay." Santana told her and Rachel nodded as they made their way over to the counter.
"What are your vegan options?" Rachel asked politely when it came to her turn but the woman behind the counter simply laughed at her before piling a large spoonful of green mush onto her plate.
"Where do you think you are, Princess? The Whitehouse?" She laughed again before pushing the tray into Rachel's chest before moving on to the next student.
"I wouldn't be too insulted. She's like it to everyone, probably because of the size of her ass." Santana's voice rose in volume towards the end of her sentence and Rachel scrunched up her noise in disgust before placing the offending tray onto the side.
"I guess I'll just stick to fruit then." Santana laughed at her before leading her over to an empty table and sitting down.
"So, what classes are you taking?" Rachel spent the next ten minutes talking about the school with Santana until Rachel found herself distracted as the doors opened and three very handsome teenagers walked in.
Santana caught her looking and rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't get too excited, Tiny. They are the three biggest douchbags you'll ever have the misfortune of meeting."
Rachel drew her eyes back to Santana, embarrassed at being caught looking. "How so?" She couldn't help but ask.
Santana sighed and put her legs up on the table before taking a bite out of her apple.
"Well, the one on the right is called Sam Evans. Truthfully, he's probably the nicest out of the three but he's still a huge jerk. The one on the right is Noah Puckerman, enjoys setting fire to stuff and has slept with every girl in this place." Santana rolled her eyes and Rachel bit her tongue to stop her asking whether that included Santana or not. Instead, she asked another question she was burning to.
"And the middle one?" Honestly, Rachel thought he was the most handsome out of the three, with messy brown hair and amber eyes, there was something about him that Rachel felt herself drawn to.
"Finn Hudson. The most messed up out of all of them. That being said, they're all bad news – into everything, drugs, alcohol and not a week goes by where one of them doesn't have a black eye from getting in a fight with someone off campus."
Rachel nodded and ducked her head, blocking Santana out as she changed the subject but Rachel continued to steal glances at the guys in the corner.
"You must be Rachel, our new roommate. I'm Kurt Hummel." Rachel smiled and shook the hand that he offered to her before sitting back down on her bed.
"So, one question that will determine the future of our possible friendship, have you seen 'Hello Dolly'?"
Rachel glanced up and him and couldn't help the smile that crossed her face. "Are you mad? Barbra is my God. I've lost count of the number of times I've watched and sang along to Funny Girl. It's my favourite film."
Kurt squealed loudly before bouncing down next to her and grinning. "Oh my Barbra. I love you already."
Santana groaned from her own bed where she was reading a magazine. "Good God, there's two of you."
Rachel hummed to herself in an effort to calm her nerves as she strolled around campus. She had left her room around an hour ago to go for a walk but now, she couldn't seem to catch her bearings due to the night sky.
Suddenly, she heard voices and froze and they grew nearer, unable to move as she held her breath.
"You should have seen it man, Hudson had him out flat within thirty seconds."
Rachel gasped as she worked out who the voices must belong to.
"And you would have, if you weren't making out with Courtney." Another voice chimed as three figures rounded the corner.
"Can you blame me? Have you seen Courtney's legs?" They all laughed but stopped short as they spotted Rachel.
"Hi." She squeaked, before clearing her throat and trying again. "You wouldn't be able to point me in the direction of the girls' dorm, would you?"
For a moment they all just looked at her and Rachel began to feel extremely awkward.
"You know, never mind. I can't have gone that far." She said, beginning to turn but stopping when Noah Puckerman spoke.
"You new? I haven't seen you before and I'm pretty sure I've met every girl in this place." Remembering what Santana had told her, Rachel snorted, causing them all to look at her strangely.
"Sorry." She muttered. "Yes, I'm new."
"Why else would she be asking for directions?" Sam laughed. "Sam Evans, and you're not far, just go left at the corner and continue on."
She nodded as he held out a hand which she shook. "Rachel. Rachel Berry."
"What a lovely name, I'm Noah. But you can call me Puck."
"Nice to meet you, Noah." She said as Sam laughed to which she found herself smiling at.
With almost instinct, she glanced at the third member of the group to let him introduce himself, only to find that he wasn't even looking at her.
"Come on guys, let's go. You've given her her directions." Rachel felt her heart sink as he ignored her and humiliated.
Finn walked on, hands in his pockets and Noah nodded at her before following him.
"Sorry about that. Don't take it personally; he's like it to everyone." Sam told her and Rachel snorted.
"You know, he's not the first person I've been told that about today."
Sam gave her one last smile, which she returned before taking off after the other two, leading Rachel to ponder what exactly was Finn Hudson's problem.
"Where did you get off to last night?" Santana asked as the pair got ready to leave for first period.
"Oh, I just took a walk around, get to know the place a little better." Rachel wasn't sure why she was keeping her meeting with the boys a secret but for some reason she didn't want Santana to know.
"Okay, so will you be okay making your way to biology?" Rachel nodded as Santana picked up her phone and made her way over to the door.
"I'll see you later then." Santana left and Rachel pulled her hair into a tidy ponytail before following her.
Once she arrived at her first lesson, she informed the teacher and he placed her at a lab table at the very back.
The lesson was already ten minutes in when the door opened again and the guys who had been occupying her thoughts quite literally fell through the door.
"Ah, the famous trio. Can I ask why you are ten minutes late to my lesson?" Mr Mason asked.
"Well you can but I'm not sure you'll like the answer." Noah smirked causing the class to laugh and Mr Mason to flush.
"Just take your seats and don't let me hear another word from any of you until the end of the lesson."
They made their way towards the back and Rachel glanced up, taking in the fact that the seat next to her and the two in front of her were empty.
Oh no.
She closed her eyes and prayed her conclusion was wrong but sighed when the chair next to her was dragged backwards.
She opened her eyes and looked upwards to find that Noah and Sam were now occupying the seats in front and Finn was sitting next to her.
"We meet again, sweetheart." Noah slurred, turning to face Finn and Rachel, allowing Rachel to smell the unmistakable stench on his breath.
"Are you drunk?" She hissed, causing him to laugh.
"Maybe. We had a rough night so needed to make sure we had the energy to get through the day." Rachel rolled her eyes before bending her head and getting back to her notes, scribbling down the next paragraph, leaving the three of them to continue their conversation.
It was nearing the end of the lesson when she was drawn back into it.
"So Rachel, are you going to Jessica's party tonight?" Sam asked her and Rachel shook her head.
"I don't even know who Jessica is so probably not." She admitted.
"I'm pretty sure half the people going don't know who Jessica is, it's an open party." Finn told her and Rachel's eyes snapped to his face, only to find he was avoiding her gaze – again.
"Just turn up, dorm 234." Sam told her, smiling before grabbing his bag and standing up.
The bell rang and they all pretty much ran from the classroom leaving Rachel to realise she had just been invited to her first party.
"Are you going to this party tonight?" Rachel asked Santana trying to sound casual as she sat on her bed picking at a loose thread on her cover.
"Jessica's? Yep, I can't stand her but there'll be alcohol." Rachel smiled softly and was silent for a few moments, causing Santana to glance over at her, eyebrows raised.
"You alright over there, Tiny?"
"Yes, just thinking about this party." She answered as Santana came and sat down next to her.
"You coming with me?" She asked, nudging her shoulder playfully.
"Well, I was going to but…I didn't exactly bring party attire with me." Rachel admitted which Santana found hilarious for some reason.
"That's what's getting you down? Just borrow something of mine."
Rachel finally looked up with an incredulous look.
"Are you crazy? There's a reason you call me Tiny you know." Santana looked at her with a glint in her eye.
"I think we can work something out."
Rachel took a deep breath and pulled her (well Santana's) very short black dress as scanned the room for Santana, letting out a sigh of relief when she spotted the other girl walking towards her.
"Here drink this." Santana told her, handing her a plastic cup spilling over at the top.
"Santana! I can't get drunk." Rachel told her but Santana only rolled her eyes.
"Sure you can. Tiny, it's Friday, your first weekend here and this stuff is expensive so it's like compulsory that you get drunk." Rachel contemplated it in her head for a few seconds before reaching out and downing the drink in one.
Whilst it left a slight burning sensation at the back of her throat, she realised it was a pleasant feeling and asked Santana to get her another one.
Several drinks later, Rachel stumbled out of the toilet giggling and grabbed onto the closet door handle for support only for it to open and give way, causing her to land flat on her back.
"Oops." She started to laugh uncontrollably only to stop instantly when she realised she was not only in the closet. In fact, there were two pairs of eyes staring down at her.
Oh My God.
"Do you mind?" The female asked irritated and Rachel stood quickly, placing her hand flat against the wall for support.
"I'm so sorry. I'll be leaving right around now." She turned to go but stopped when Finn's voice sounded.
"No, stay." Rachel turned back around in time to see him pull his hand out from under the blonde's top.
"Charlotte, why don't you go back to the party?" He told her but Charlotte pouted and wrapped her arms around his neck in a vice like grip.
"But Finn…" She whined, but Finn simply pulled her arms back down to her side and pushed her towards the door by the small of her back.
"Go." Charlotte didn't need to be told again, storming out of the closet but not before throwing Rachel a filthy look and slamming the door behind her.
"I'm so sorry. It was a complete accident –"Rachel began only to stop when Finn shook his head and cut her off.
"It's fine. To be honest, I probably would have done that even if you hadn't interrupted us." He took a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it.
"So where are Sam and Noah?" She asked as she sat down on the floor, leaning against the wall. This was her first conversation with Finn, and she was determined to make it last as long as she could.
"Well I don't know about you, but I don't tend to have my friends around when I'm making out with a girl." Finn replied and Rachel flushed, ducking her head only looking up again when she heard Finn chuckling.
"I'm joking." He winked, seating himself next her on the floor and offering her a puff of his cigarette. She shook her head but couldn't seem to draw her eyes away from his mouth as he inhaled and exhaled the smoke.
"I'm sorry." He blurted after a few minutes and she glanced at him, question in her eyes.
"For being rude to you yesterday, and this morning I suppose. I guess I'm just not good with new people."
"Maybe you should give them a chance?" She smiled softly and he chuckled as he turned his head to look at her.
"Maybe I don't want people to get close to me." She knew he was drunk and that was probably the only reason he was talking to her at all, but she also guessed that there was an element of truth behind the words.
"And why would that be?" She asked as he began tracing circles on her thigh.
"Because…maybe I'm scared they won't like what they'll find." She looked up from the hand on her leg into his eyes and swallowed harshly when she registered that their mouths were less than an inch away from each other.
Suddenly, the door burst open and Noah and Sam broke their bubble. Finn's hand dropped to the floor and his head snapped back before his friends realised their proximity.
Rachel's gaze dropped as she tried not to let the hurt show on her face.
"There you are, Hudson. We've been looking for you, got a little surprise." Noah slurred, seating himself next to Finn as Sam sat on the other side of Rachel.
"What would that be?" Finn laughed as Noah pulled a joint out of his pocket. Finn smiled when he realised what it was and seconds later, Rachel got it.
"Drugs? You're doing drugs in a school closet?" She shrieked as they all turned to look at her.
"Calm yourself, Berry. It's only a bit of pot. Won't do any damage." Noah laughed.
"Well I'm surprised Miss Proper actually realised what it was in the first place." Finn laughed unkindly as he took the joint from Noah's hand and took a long drag.
"Why are you even here?" He asked and Rachel gasped. What happened to the somewhat vulnerable guy from five minutes ago?
"I'm sorry." She stuttered, standing up but Sam's hand grabbed her wrist.
"Stay, please? Guys leave her alone." When she didn't budge, he pulled her down, causing her to land on his lap.
"Much better." He winked and in her drink induced state, Rachel giggled.
Oblivious to Finn and Noah exchanging the joint, Rachel's eyes dropped to Sam's lips and back up to his eyes before realising he was doing the exact same thing.
She smiled softly and he took it as a cue to reach a hand up and tangle it in her hair.
"You're so hot." He whispered before leaning in and ever so slightly pressing his lips to hers. When she didn't push him away, he shifted her closer on his lap and put more force behind the kiss.
Rachel found herself responding and placing a hand upon his shoulder to pull him closer to her.
In fact, she was so preoccupied, she failed to notice Finn stand up and leave the room.
A/N: This was originally going to be a one shot but then once I started writing I got caught up and it made more sense to do it as a multi chapter story. The good news is, that it's already all planned out in my head so it's just a case of converting it onto paper , as such, so updates should be frequent.
The characters are really messed up in this one, sorry. Except Rachel of course, she's just trying to fit in, I suppose.
*Review*
Paige