There's Always Tomorrow
By: Meredith Richardson
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any of the characters that Ryan Murphy came up with.
Summary: Rachel thought her life was over the day Finn broke up with her in the school hallway… she was wrong. This is the story of a girl that learns there's more to life than boys and singing on Broadway.
Pairing: Rachel centric at the beginning, but it will eventually become Puckleberry with Samchel friendship.
Time Line: Takes place right after Glee S2E9 (Special Education) things will go a little AU from there
AN: This is the second story I've ever written so please let me know what you think. It's a little rough around the edges but I started rewatching Glee this summer, waiting like everyone for Glee Season 4 (woot) and I had to share.
AN2: I'm reposting this story to freshen it up a bit with the help of my beta BurningCrashingRaining. Thank you so much for all of your hard work! I really appreciate it . When I first started writing this story my mom had just gone into the hospital for hip surgery. I needed something to do so I started writing, and it blossomed from there. I hope you guys enjoy!
Chapter 1: Breakups and Moving on
The day that Finn broke up with Rachel was one of the hardest days of her young life. When they'd agreed to never lie to each other, she'd told him the truth about Puck. She thought he'd be a little upset but they'd move on together, and become a stronger couple. But she was wrong - she'd never seen him so upset in her life… how could she profess to love him and break his heart in the worst way? She wanted to scream after him, but she was frozen in place unable to do anything but watch his tall form weave through the sea of students, away from her. She was shocked and heartbroken, unable to comprehend what had just happened. How could Finn just give up on their relationship like that? They'd dealt with so much over the last year. Quinn's pregnancy and lies surrounding it, Jesse, and even her long lost mother. Why couldn't he forgive her for kissing Puck when he'd done something so much worse? He'd looked at her with complete and utter betrayal but he'd betrayed her first. He lied to her, said that he was a virgin like her. So what if they hadn't been together when it happened! He knew how important it was to her that their first times be with each other.
She could have forgiven his transgression if he'd told her the truth. To have to hear it from Santana, the girl who made her life miserable, and in front of everyone in glee was just humiliating. She'd heard them laughing at her in the background. After everything they'd all been through together she thought that she'd finally made some true friends. It seemed like everyone was always keeping secrets from her or talking about her behind her back. No one, not even her boyfriend would stand up for her. She couldn't even go talk to her best friend Kurt because he'd transferred schools and was now her ex-boyfriends step-brother. Why was everything always so complicated?
The sound of the bell ringing to signal the start of another class period made Rachel realize that she'd been standing frozen in place for quite a while. She tried to calm the emotions that were swirling through her, trying to breakout but she kept her cool. Rachel didn't need to give her unforgiving classmates another reason to pick on her and cover her with slushies, and she knew they would come. Ever since her relationship with Finn became official at the start of the school year, the slushies had almost gone to a complete stop. As soon as word got around school that they had broken up, it would once again be open season on Rachel Berry, soon to be Broadway star. Not that anyone really believed it when she told them, but Rachel knew it was a given.
Rachel strode purposefully down the hallway with her eyes forward and her back straight until she reached her locker. Rachel took a deep breath, putting in her combination slowly, and opened the door. This was it. It was time to move on with her new life… without Finn Hudson. Rachel quickly stretched her arms behind her head and released the clasp and let her necklace fall gently into her waiting palm. She looked down at her glistening gold Finn necklace. It was the first gift he gave her after they became a couple over the summer. It was also the first gift a boy ever gave her, other than the tape Jesse had given her of her mother but she tried not to think of him…. ever. She hadn't taken it off since he'd given it to her one hot day in July when they sat outside in her backyard looking up at the stars. It had been so romantic and the kisses they'd shared that night had been perfect. Her dad and daddy didn't even tease her when she came in late all flushed and breathless. Instead, they'd told her how happy they were for her to find a guy that cared so much for her… and one that was so musically talented to be the Tony to her Maria.
Those days seemed too far away… and she felt foolish for having ever believed that she and Finn had a future together. Guys like Finn Hudson do not date girls like Rachel Berry. They dated popular cheerleaders like Quinn and Santana. It seemed like the world was finally returning to normal after it had spun off its axis when she'd been foolish enough to think they had a chance together. Rachel sighed again, before setting the golden chain and Finn charm in her locker before glancing up at the small Rachel and Finn Forever sign she had stuck against the back of her locker door. She had spent hours perfecting the little sign, she'd wanted it to be absolutely perfect so that she could look at it every day as a reminder of how lucky she was to have a guy like Finn.
Rachel quickly swiped away the lone tear that she had tried to stop from spilling down her cheeks. She pulled down the sign, along with all the pictures and mementos of her time with Finn. She didn't want to leave any reminders of her relationship in her locker. There was no reason to keep them. She and Finn were over; she'd been foolish to ever think that he'd want to date a girl like her.
For the first time in her life, Rachel skipped school. She didn't have the heart to deal with seeing anyone's faces or listen to the snide comments and whispers they'd say behind her back. Rachel knew she'd have to deal with those tomorrow. When she got home she immediately went to her room and got to work eliminating anything Finn related from her room, stuffing everything in a cardboard box and shoving it to the back of her closet. She couldn't stand the sight of them, but that didn't mean she had the heart to throw everything out right away. Maybe someday in the near future…
The house was quiet and lonely as Rachel tried to think of something, anything to do to keep her mind off this last week. Her parents were out of town for the weekend so she'd have the house to herself and for once she really wished she wasn't an only child. She'd rather share her dad and daddy any day then sit around the house for another minute thinking about the look on Finn's face when she told him she'd kissed Noah. He'd been so heartbroken… she didn't think he could have possibly been hurt worse than when Quinn and Puck had admitted the paternity of Beth to him in the choir room.
She tried to record another video but her heart wasn't really in it so she gave up after the first ten minutes. She sat staring at her phone for what felt like hours, waiting and hoping that someone would call to check in on her and save her from her depressing thoughts. She didn't even have her low fat frozen yogurt to wallow in. Rachel was so busy wallowing in her thoughts that she nearly missed the sound of the phone ringing. She quickly ran from her desk, sliding along her bed and grabbed the phone.
"Hello," Rachel questioned, trying to regain her breath and sound completely normal.
"Rachel honey, it's your dad we just wanted to let you know that our plane made it alright and wanted to make sure you're doing alright at home by yourself," Rachel's father Leroy said.
For a moment Rachel considered telling him the truth about her breakup with Finn and begging them to come home early but decided to be strong, "I'm doing fine Dad, this isn't the first time I've stayed home alone. I think I can manage for a few days, though I will miss you. We're out of my favorite nonfat frozen yogurt so I may have to stop at the store. Oh, and make sure Daddy doesn't eat too much fast food. You know it's bad for his high blood pressure. You should really try to stay as close to his diet as possible."
Leroy chuckled gently, "I love you baby girl, enjoy your frozen yogurt, and I promise to make sure your Daddy follows his diet on this trip. Don't forget to keep the doors locked while we're gone, and call us if you need anything. We can get a flight home at any time."
"Oh no, I'll be fine. Now that we've won Sectionals the glee club is going to need to step it up if we plan on having any chance of beating Vocal Adrenaline at Regionals. I'm endeavoring to find some music that'll blow them away with our vocal ability and dance choreography," Rachel burst out, already coming up with a list of solos that would showcase her talent.
"As long as you make sure to have some fun over the weekend honey, you work too hard." There was a slight muffled sound in the background before Leroy spoke again, "Our ride is here, so I've got to go. Daddy and I love you, Punkin'."
Rachel blushed, "Dad. How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that."
Leroy chuckled, "No matter how much you change I'll always remember that little girl that demanded to carve her own pumpkin for Halloween, but could never pronounce it properly no matter how hard your daddy and I tried."
Rachel said her goodbyes and hung-up the phone. She was glad to hear from her fathers, but was disappointed that she hadn't heard from anyone in glee. After everything they'd been through together over the last year, she'd thought they'd become true friends. But it seemed that while everyone else had gotten to know each other she remained on the outside. Rachel Berry was a critical member of the glee club, their strongest singer, but when it came to social gatherings and hanging out she was always left alone.
Over the summer she tried hard to ignore the pain she felt whenever she heard that Tina, Mercedes, and Kurt went off to the mall without her. Sometimes they even took Quinn, Brittney, and Santana along. It hurt her, though you'd never hear her admit it. Why were they so willing to let the other girls go along? She was one of the original members yet it didn't seem to matter. She had been all right with it, though, because she'd had Finn, and he had been all that mattered. Now he was gone and she had nothing. No friends that would sit with her while she cried her heart out over the loss of the one and only boy who had truly stolen her heart. (Jesse didn't count). And the one person that she could've talked to, Kurt was gone, off to Dalton Academy so she couldn't talk to him about her problems. Besides, Finn was his new step-brother and she didn't want to make things complicated. Rachel Berry was a star and she was going to become the next Barbara Streisand one day. If people couldn't accept that, then it was their loss. It always was a little lonely at the top.