This is my second fanfic! It's set during Hairography, when Rachel confronts Kurt. Please review and let me know what you think!


"How could you do that? I thought we were friends,"

Rachel's expression was furious, but at the same time vulnerable. She'd never felt so stupid. How could she deceive herself into thinking that someone would actually want to befriend her?

Yet Kurt had seemed so… nice when he gave her that makeover. Even though he'd transformed her into the opposite of what Finn liked, she felt beautiful. And not just externally. That night, they had laughed, traded secrets, and painted their nails – everything Rachel had always wanted to do with a best friend. She had told him everything that she hadn't been able to tell anyone before - not even her dads. And he had nodded and encouraged her, his eyes twinkling. Not once did he tell her "shut up" or "nobody cares".

Outside of school, he wasn't the bitchy diva everyone thought he was. And for once, Rachel hadn't felt like she was the desperate drama queen that everybody made her out to be. She'd felt safe knowing, that even if everyone else openly hated her, she'd have one friend she could trust.

She'd really thought that he cared.

"And what made you think that?" His blue-green eyes were cold as they glared at her in distaste. She'd thought that his eyes were pretty before – like sea glass.

In the dim lighting of her room, they'd looked soft and inviting. Now they just looked scary, like jagged shards instead of smooth sea glass. This wasn't the Kurt she befriended. Some terrible, manipulative, monster had taken his place.

His voice turned mocking, but she wasn't even listening any more. It just hurt too much.

An idea that had been shoved into the back of her mind was crawling forward, clouding her vision and plastering a twisted smile on her face. She stared at him dazedly as suddenly everything made sense: why Kurt volunteered to give her a makeover, why he'd stiffen every time Finn's name was mentioned.

"You like him," Kurt's smirk faded. She pressed on with conviction, feeling almost delirious. "Yeah, Th-that's what this is – and you were just trying to eliminate the competition."

He didn't deny it.

He didn't even bat an eye. "I was just trying to help him understand that you," he nearly spat at her, "are not a viable second choice."

Rage flooded her mind, saturating any feelings of regret and pain, as she marched after him. Finn was straight and Finn was hers. "You think I'm second choice?" her voice shook. With anger or sadness, she wasn't sure.

"A distant second," he confirmed indifferently.

"You think I'm living in a fairy tale?" Angry words tumbled out of her mouth as the rage intensified within her. They were void of meaning, just hurled out to try and hurt him - like he'd hurt her. "If I were second, or if I were fiftieth, I would still be ahead of you because I'm a girl."

His face betrayed no emotion as he considered this. She couldn't believe him. Here she was, on the edge of bawling, and Kurt just stood there calmly. Maybe he really didn't have a heart. "Okay, here's the dope, Princess. There's no hope for either of us,"

Each word landed like a blow and she had to press her lips together to keep from sobbing. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her reduced into a pathetic heap of heartbreak and betrayal.

"We're nothing but distractions," For a second, Kurt's facade fell and his lips quivered. "The sooner we realize that, the better." He strode away, leaving her standing there - alone.

Rachel Berry always knew it was lonely on the top. But right now, as she watched Kurt's retreating figure, she would have given anything for a friend. A real one.