Title: Once More with Feeling

Author: desespoir

Pairing: Rachel/Puck, Rachel/Finn, Quinn/Finn

Rating: T for now, M later

Notes: I was rewatching the earlier episodes of Glee last night and the scene where Quinn tells Rachel she would've tortured her if the roles were reversed really stuck with me. So, I'm indulging in a bit more AU. Quinn is still head cheerleader and Rachel is still queen of the Glee club but Rachel is the one that is dating Finn but secretly knocked up by Puck. Drama ensues.

Notes2: Entry into .Pink.'s Baby Mama Drama challenge.

Quinn: I would have tortured you if the roles were reversed, you know?
Rachel: I know.

-- "Vitamin D"

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Prologue: I got misty-eyed when they said farewell

I'd like to make myself believe that planet Earth turns slowly. It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep because everything is never as it seems. – Fireflies, Owl City

Rachel Berry was a dreamer.

She was also pragmatic. She was driven and she had big goals and dreams but she never lost her grip on reality. She always had a back-up plan. She knew that Juilliard only had a two percent acceptance rate or something else equally disheartening and miniscule.

The chances of her making it onto Broadway were slim but she was nothing if not passionate about it. She had drive and ambition.

In the end, that would be her saving grace.

She was also brilliant. She was top of her class and participated in numerous extracurricular activities. She was the perfect student.

She had the whole world in front of her and her whole life to live.

Four days after her missed period, she thought little of it. She had often heard that stress made your hormones go wonky and it was probably the reason behind the lateness of her period. Glee had been particularly trying in the past few weeks and she spent the majority of her time on her feet, dancing around, and over exerting herself. It was the stress, she told herself. Besides, it was only a few days. It wasn't a big deal.

Nine days after her missed period, she started to get nervous.

She never thought she would be in this position. She drove an extra ten miles into the next town to buy a pregnancy test. Lima was a small place and people talked. Everybody was in everybody's business. The clerk was an old grandmother who raised an eyebrow when she scanned the product.

Rachel kept her head down, furiously avoiding her stare. She shoved the cash into her hands before rushing into the back of the store.

She sat in the bathroom of the grocery store. The fluorescent light glared down at her and she took in a deep breath, opened her eyes, and read the results.

Positive.

She dropped the stick to the floor. She didn't even notice how much her hands were shaking until she felt herself collapse to the floor, the tile cold against her bare legs.

Pregnant at sixteen.

She had become one of those god awful stereotypes in those made-for-TV movies.

The brightest star of the high school cheats on her wholesome and trusting football playing boyfriend with the self-proclaimed bad boy and best friend of said boyfriend during a one-night stand. Then she gets pregnant.

It sounded ridiculous to her own ears. She leaned back against the wall, half-crying, half-laughing at her own predicament.

She was a statistic. It wasn't supposed to be like this.

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