Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Glee. I'm just borrowing the characters to play for a bit. No profit is being made.
A/N: I know I have tons of on-going stories I need to finish, but my muse wouldn't let this go. This is the result of some serious fuming after the last few Glee eps... This is my version of how things should have happened. I have also have three OC's that will only make a small appearance. I needed to give Rachel some real friends...
A/N 2: Did some tinkering. When I started this story, we still didn't know Rachel's parents' first names, so I made some of my own. I wasn't going to change it, but it's been bugging me. So, while my muse is on strike, I took it upon myself to do it. I'm only adding this note because I have no clue if will notify any followers of the story as I replace existing chapters. Thanks for your patience.
Chapter 1
It has been a horrible couple of weeks for Rachel. Not only did she find out her boyfriend had lied to her for months, but the entire Glee Club was witness to yet another one of their crises. She wonders why she is such a masochist. From the very beginning, she has known that for any relationship to succeed, whether it's friendship or romance based or both, there has to be trust and honesty between the parties involved. Even knowing this, she has gone back to Finn time and time again, with the same result. If it isn't his lack of honesty, it's lack of concern for her feelings. There is the ever present pressure for sex. Then of course, there is the ever present need to be the most popular boy in the school, because heaven forbid, he is seen openly defending her from the daily verbal and non verbal abuse in the form of slushie facials.
The situation with Santana of course is the straw that breaks the camel's back, as the stupid saying goes. It gets her angry enough that once again, her judgement is impaired by the sheer strength of the rage and frustration the discovery leaves in its wake. She'll even admit that out of the sheer desire to get even, she acted on impulse and without thinking yet again. Rachel is however, extremely glad that both she and Noah came to their senses and stopped going further than a serious make-out session and a little bit of grinding. In the end, she just couldn't go through with it, one because she just couldn't bring herself to use the one person who was nice to her since the entire ordeal began, and two because of her own principles. She still refuses to have meaningless sex.
It helps that Puck also comes to his senses as well. He has always known Rachel's outlook on sex, and after the clusterfuck with Quinn the previous year, he tells Rachel he just can't do that to Rachel. He tells her how she deserves so much more than angry sex for her first time. He finally admits that there is the fact that no matter what a douche bag Finn has been with Rachel, Puck also can't bring himself to betray his still recovering friendship with him. Sometimes, it really sucks to get morals. In the end, both teenagers are happy that even though they were engaged in a less than honourable situation, at least they had enough sense to stop before their actions turned to regrets.
It was a true miracle they managed to perform well enough to tie with Dalton Academy. Truth be told, it was probably a blessing in disguise that Quinn and Sam got to sing the ballad, and Santana got the lead for their second solo because Rachel barely remembers the performances. After a lot of deliberation, she comes to the conclusion that enough is enough. Even if she has to spend the remainder of her high school career alone, she will not set herself up for that kind of pain ever again. Decision made, she sets out to find Finn and once and for all, put an end to the charade that masquerades as a relationship.
Rachel sends him a text that gets ignored, which only serves to rile her up even more. She eventually sees him walking out of the boys' locker room with Puck, Sam, Artie and a few other jocks.
"Hey Rachel." Puck says with a grin the second he spots the small diva.
"Hello Noah." Rachel says with a small smile and wave of her hand, before she turns her face Finn.
Puck's smile fades the moment he notices the diva turns to lock eyes with Finn. He has to clamp down on the urge to shake some sense in the girl, because it seems as if the girl is one again going to forgive his douche bag of a friend and let him walk all over her again. If Rachel notices the sour look crossing Puck's face and his struggle to contain his already flaring temper, she isn't letting on at all. Of course, knowing how single minded Rachel can be, it could also mean the girl never noticed a thing.
"Finn, we need to talk." Rachel says without preambles.
"Sure, Rach, walk with us." Finn says with what he hopes is a charming smile, all the while thinking to himself that once again, Rachel can't live without him. He tries to hide the self-satisfied smirk by taking an extra large bite of his donut. He's always hungry after working out with the rest of the team in their free period.
"Not here. In private." Rachel says in cold voice laced with barely disguised anger. Her face is a mask of indifference, something that none of the boys have ever seen on the diva. "Don't worry. It won't take long. I'm sure your friends will be more than happy to wait for you before we need to make it to Glee." Rachel adds as she notices how he looks between her and his friends.
"Uh, sure." Finn says looking around, reluctance evident in his voice. "I'll be back guys. Don't eat all the donuts." He adds to some of his teammates.
"Nah, we'll just catch you tomorrow or something. You have your fairy meeting coming up soon, 'sides, all the donuts are gone already." One of the jocks says, earning him a high-five from one of the other boys there.
"That was a good one." Another jock pipes in between snorts of laughter and all around high-fives and fist pumps.
"Yeah, whatever guys. Just knock it off." Finn says uncomfortable with the teasing, shooting Rachel a sour look, which causes the diva's face to morph into one of determination and a fire in her eyes that has been all but extinguished to roar back to life.
Puck has to fight the urge to pump his fist in the air and whoop with happiness once he hears Rachel's voice and sees the determined look plastered on her face. Hopefully, it means that Rachel will dump his sorry ass and not let him walk all over her yet again. Sure, he feels bad for Finn what he almost did to him again, but it's about time his fellow 'hot Jew' stood up for herself.
Rachel turns around and starts walking away the second she sees Finn reluctantly separate himself from the other boys to follow her. She will not give him the satisfaction of having her hang by his every word while they are in front of the school ever again. Her steps are sure and confident once again, something that had been lost during the farce that passes as their relationship.
"Could you slow down a bit?" Finn says as he tries to catch up to the rapidly retreating diva. Maybe things are not as great as he thought they'd be. Who knew someone so tiny could walk so fast that he would have a hard time catching up, even with his extra height. It is quite a sight, seeing the diva storm through the hallway effortlessly while being followed by a giant puppy trying to keep up.
Not surprising, they end up in the choir room. Once Rachel is sure no one is there, she closes the door and leans against it.
"You wanted to talk?" Finn asks in his 'oh, woe is me; the world is out to get me voice'.
"Please spare me the martyr act. There is no one here but me, so save the act for when you have an audience." Rachel snaps, getting really tired of the attitude.
"That's not fair Rachel. How long are you planning on punishing me? I don't even see what the big deal is. We weren't together so it doesn't matter. You really don't have a right to be pissed about it." Finn says, thinking this is about his tryst with Santana during their sophomore year.
"I might have misled myself and said we were going to talk. Allow me to correct my oversight. I'm going to speak, you are going to sit, stand, lie down, and listen. Frankly I really don't care if you hop on one foot while rubbing your head, as long as you pay attention." Rachel interrupts before he gets further into his rant.
"Since you're the one who brought your little indiscretion, I'll humour you. Of course you'd think it's not a big deal, but I have news for you. It is a huge deal. You lied to me for months. When I came clean and told you about Jesse and me, you had the perfect opportunity to be honest, and once again, you chose to lie to me. It didn't matter to you that the rest of our teammates knew about it but me. It didn't matter to you that once again, I became the laughing stock and the butt of all the jokes because once again, your precious reputation is safe. I'm done. I refuse to do this to myself any longer. Find yourself another girl who can act like your personal cheerleader and stroke your ego whenever you feel the need to. Perhaps Santana was the perfect choice considering that she is one." Rachel says in a tone of voice and with a determination Finn has hardly ever seen Rachel use with him, or lately at all. There is no dramatics, no screaming, no diva tantrums, just a low, steady voice, and a gaze that could freeze and shatter molten steel within seconds.
"Come on Rach; don't make such a big deal about it. Yes, I know lying wasn't something nice, but remember, we agreed that no matter what we weren't going to break up with each other. We promised we'd work through anything by being honest and open with each other. Being your usual drama queen won't help at all." Finn says in what he hopes is his best apologetic tone and his best puppy dog eyes.
"One, you do not get to call me that anymore. Two, spare me the quotes and the theatrics. You are only honest with me when you're caught with a lie and you have no other choice but to tell the truth. You never respected me enough to treat me as an individual. During the time we've been together as a couple, whenever things didn't go your way, you threw your share of fits. Whenever it suited you, we were a couple for the world to see, but every single time I needed you to stand up for us, you put your popularity first. You care about it so much, I'm giving you the chance to make sure it always stays up. We are through. For once since we've met, I'm going to put myself first when it matters. Have a happy life. I just hope that whatever animosity this will result in, that it won't affect our team's future performances." Rachel continues with the same intensity. She doesn't even bother with the cliché of trying to remain friends. She knows it's not possible, at least not any time soon.
"You're not being fair. You're being all drama queen again. I've told you before that I need to be on top in order to keep you safe." Finn starts to say, only to be cut off again by Rachel.
"Don't start. You've been on top of the popularity rung and you still won't do a thing about your buddies and their slushies. I might have dumbed down my vocabulary for you, but I am far from being stupid. I refuse to keep making excuses and justifying your deplorable behaviour. I really don't have the patience to listen to the same spiel over and over. I'm not rehashing a dead topic anymore. This isn't really up to discussion, and there really is nothing you can say or do to change my mind. You can serenade me during Glee until you turn blue in the face and it will not change a thing." Rachel says, her patience and the grasp of her flaring temper slipping further with each passing second.
"But I love you." Finn starts to say with his wounded puppy look and voice.
"No you don't. You love the idea of having a girlfriend. Actually, you love the idea of having someone fawning after you telling you how wonderful you are." Rachel says in a defeated tone.
"How can you say that? I do. I would do anything for you." Finn counters, getting desperate now. Usually one well placed 'I love you' and Rachel is back in his arms.
"How can you even claim that when you have a hard time standing up for me to your buddies. Do you have any idea what it feels like to always come in second to just about anything else in your life? I'm tired of being a side thought who only matters when you need your own cheering section. I'm tired of being shoved away when you think that being with me will be a detriment to your reputation. I'm tired of competing for your attention because you have guys' time with your teammates. I'm tired of competing with your video games. I'm tired of the guilt trip you lay on me because I'm not ready to have sex with you. I'm not ready to make love with you because I honestly don't think you know the meaning of the word." Rachel says, not sure if she should laugh or cry at this point.
"I defended you against Santana during my mom's wedding when she was calling you names." Finn interjects, and soon enough, the expectant look of a puppy waiting for a reward for not peeing inside makes its appearance in his face.
"Or so you say. But I'll humour you again. Once out of how many times I have been put down by just about everyone in the school? Does the phrase 'too little, too late' mean anything to you? Ever since we became a couple, I can hardly recognise myself. I have allowed my desire to be in a romantic relationship with you cloud over and shadow who I am. I don't like who I have become when we're together. When two people love each other, they are supposed to bring the best out of the other. We bring out the worst in each other. I have done things I am not proud of, which I am taking full responsibility for. I'm making sure I don't lose myself further. I need to find myself again, and for that I need to take a step back and be alone for a while." Rachel says, voice brimming with the confidence she used to have.
"So, it's like we're taking a bit of a break, right? I get it. All couples go through that. Maybe we should go back to Miss Pillsbury for another counselling session and we can get back together faster." Finn says with a lopsided smile.
"No Finn. I need someone who can accept the person I was. I need someone who accepts the person I am today. I need someone secure enough who will not try to mould me into someone I'm not. You're clearly not that person. You're not happy unless I hang by every word you say. You make no effort to understand me at all. I'm tired of your double standards. You're lucky that all your friends go to this school. I barely get to see mine, and when I have the opportunity to do so, you make me feel horrible for wanting to spend time with them. You don't respect me. It's clear how easy it was for you to lie to me about something that to me is so important for months on end. And the only reason I found out was because Santana blurted it out in whatever attempt to hurt me yet again. The rest of Glee knew, and you had no problem putting me through that kind of humiliation. If anything, you seemed to revel in it. I'm done putting myself second." Rachel continues, feeling lighter and better for the first time in months.
"I have always put emphasis with trust and honesty, so it starts with me being honest. During the time we have been in limbo, in the middle of my anger, I did something I am quite ashamed of. I wanted to hurt you the same way you did. I wanted you to experience the same humiliation and pain I did, so I propositioned Noah. Thankfully, we both came to our senses and stopped before things got really out of hand. This just emphasises the fact that I have lost myself because I have always put great importance to being monogamous, but ever since I've met you, I have faltered in my beliefs and I find that unacceptable. I hope we can eventually work out our differences." Rachel says before she turns around and reaches for the doorknob.
"You cheated on me. After everything I went through with Quinn, you had to choose Puck to whore yourself around with, knowing how it would hurt me. You're a liar, and a cruel girl. No wonder you can't make and keep a single friend here. It's impossible to be friends with a nasty whore like you. Good riddance. By the end of the day, the entire school will know I dumped you again. You will no longer be able to use me to be popular." Finn says with a sneer.
The words hit Rachel like a physical blow. She staggers backwards, glad she is leaning against the door because if she wasn't, Rachel is sure her knees would have buckled and she would crumpled to the floor. Soon, she recovers, and before she knows it, she advances on him and slaps him with everything that is in her, splitting the corner of his mouth. "After everything I said, it would figure you would focus on the very last bit. You just couldn't be mature once and just let things go without attacking me." Rachel hisses, fists clenching by her sides, chest heaving with each deep breath taken in order to calm herself down.
"You have done nothing but insult me and attack me." Finn yells.
"One, I'm not deaf, so there is no need to try and burst my eardrums. I would rather not have the sound of your voice be the last thing I hear in this world. Two, everything I have said has been the truth. Three, if I were verbally attacking you, I'd be calling you a simpleton with the IQ of an amoeba, only I'd be insulting the amoeba population. I'd be saying something along the lines that I surely hope Santana got more than just dinner out of your little affair, considering your early arrival issues. I'd be saying that parasites like you disgust me to the point that if I were ever need to cool off in the middle of a make-out session I'd be picturing your stupid face." Rachel counters, voice and body language dripping ice, venom, and disdain.
"You're still a cheating whore." Finn yells again.
"You're one to speak, you hypocrite." Rachel counters in an even voice, even though she can feel anger pouring out of her in droves.
"I never cheated on you." Finn yells, wiping the trickle of blood from his chin and holding his now stinging cheek.
"No, but you cheated on Quinn. You kissed me when you were still with Quinn. The only reason you didn't push for more that afternoon in the auditorium was because of your early arrival issues. Then there is the time you used me and asked me out on a date just to get me back on Glee. You were still officially with Quinn then. You don't get to act all self-righteous on me. And before you even say anything about it not being the same, need I remind you that you begged me not to say anything to anyone? Yes, what I did with Noah was reprehensible, but I'm not the only one at fault here. I take full responsibility for that because, however erroneous it was, it was a choice I made and I took steps to at least be honest about it and told you about personally. Does Quinn even know you were the one who kissed me first instead of the other way around? But I'm digressing here. Every other issue we have, we have an equal hand in those. At the very least, take some responsibility for your own actions." Rachel says, fighting back tears. She will not give him the satisfaction of letting him see her cry.
Before he can counter with anything else, she turns on her heels, opens the door, and steps out. Out of the corner of her eyes, she notices the remaining members of New Directions trying to look as if they weren't listening in. 'Figures that even for this I have an audience, and with my luck, all they heard was Finn's last rant.' Rachel thinks resigned. Surprisingly, she can't really muster enough energy to care at the moment. All she wants to do is hide from the world.
"Are you ok?" Puck asks once they make eye contact.
"Not now Noah. I need to be alone." Rachel says, still fighting back tears. She steps out of Puck's attempt to hug her. "I'll see you later." She adds. She turns around ready to storm off, but she hesitates in her steps. She then turns around to face Santana.
"You can have him, but a word of advice here. You better be careful because if you fail to stroke his ego, he'll probably go around looking for that from someone else." Rachel says before she storms off in the hopes that some alone time will aid in calming down a bit.
Puck isn't sure what to do. Part of him wants to follow to make sure Rachel is all right. The other part of him wants to finish what Rachel started and pound the living daylights out of Finn, because friend or not, he shouldn't treat Rachel or any girl like that. In the end, the decision is made for him, because next thing he knows, the small diva is nowhere to be seen.
Puck takes the opportunity to storm into the choir room and tackle Finn as the quarterback tries to make his way out, looking as if someone killed his goldfish and the world is out to get him.
"What the hell dude?" Finn says as he scrambles to his feet in time for a fist to land on his gut.
Before things can get out of hand, Mike and Sam jump in.
"Stop Puck. You get caught fighting again, and you'll go back to juvie and you'll be expelled." Quinn says trying to calm him down.
Puck stops struggling at those words. He promised his mom he would watch it and try not to get in that kind of trouble anymore. He manages to get himself free of Sam's hold once he feels his grip relax the moment he stops struggling. Puck then turns to Finn, a look filled with hate marring his handsome face.
"What the hell was that for? Did you want to rub it in that Rachel is nothing more than a two bit whore and the two of you were having fun at my expense again?" Finn spits out.
The boys tense, ready to restrain Puck again, should he try to go after Finn again, but before they can even move, Quinn steps forward and slaps him with the same intensity Rachel did, splitting his lip further in the process.
"You're nothing but a hypocrite, lying asshole. I'd call you a son of a bitch, but it would be such a disservice of me to insult your mother when you're the one being an asshole to end all assholes." Quinn spits out, stopping Sam from trying to restrain her with nothing more than a glare.
"You're the biggest and sorriest excuse of a man I have ever known. Your existence taints my gender. If I got my way, I'd cut off your junk and spare the world of anything that you might spawn, but you're not worth it. You have treated the only girl that has always given you a free pass to act like a complete and total asshole time and time again, like she is nothing but scum on your shoes. We all have and I for one am sick of it. No matter how shitty we are, Rachel is always there when we need her, and before you lot even begin to say she is a self-absorbed diva, take a close look in the mirror. Yes, the girl speaks more than a damn chipmunk on speed. Sure, she wants to be put up on a pedestal, but who doesn't? And she wants the world to revolve around her, but then again, we all do. The difference is she knows it and admits it. When we need her, she is always there with a smile and her willingness to help." Puck says through clenched teeth. "Yeah, such a diva attitude, right?" He adds, tone dripping with sarcasm.
"Do you know that when Kurt needed help with an audition piece, he went to Rachel, and even though he has always treated her like dirt, she went out of her way to pick the perfect song for him? She was also the only one of us who openly spoke to him, our competition out in the open. She was concerned about his transition to the preppy school. Did any of you notice that throughout Dalton's turn, she kept direct eye contact with Kurt and even reminded him to smile? She was the first one to stand up and applaud his team after their performance even though all Kurt did was dance and sing background. She was the only one who went to check on my mom and my little sister while I was away in juvie." Puck spits out through clenched teeth.
"This is the same girl who offered you her support and friendship the second she found out you were pregnant." Puck says turning his glare at Quinn.
"She is also the same girl who stuck by you and believed you last year during Sectionals when the rest of us were ready to burn you at the stake for spying for Sylvester and giving her our set list." Puck says to Santana and Brittany. "And the same girl who gave up one of her solos for Sectionals after your performance, and in the end, the one who saved our asses from total and complete humiliation with a song she pulled out of thin air. And who gets the credit? This sorry excuse of a man for returning to us at the last minute." Puck says pointing dismissively at Finn.
"You of all people should know better and make an effort to treat her better, yet you use her as your punching bag just to make yourselves feel better. You're lucky I don't hit chicks and I'm no longer in the habit of hitting the disabled." Puck says turning this anger toward Mercedes, Tina, and Artie.
"She is the same girl who tried to get you all to stick up for Kurt while Karofsky was making his life a living hell. Fuck, even Schuester treats her like shit. He calls on her divaness, but ignores all the shit we do to her right in front of his very eyes. We could have owned Sectionals like we did last year had Rachel sung the solos, instead, we're stuck tying for first place and only because the other teams sucked as well. You are all jealous of her talent. We all know that out of all of us, she is the only one that has what it takes to get out of this hell hole and we have been making her life crap because we're all jealous of her. This fucking sucks." Puck finishes his rant. He then turns to face Finn once again. "You so much start spreading rumours about Rachel to save your sorry ass, I'll let the entire school know you used to wet your bed until you were fourteen." Puck says loud enough for the rest to hear before he storms out of the choir room in a way that would have given Rachel a run for her money.
Finn looks at the stunned and slightly disgusted faces of those around him, and realises that they have all heard everything that went on during his talk with Rachel. So much for saving his reputation by announcing he dumped Rachel. He turns on his heels before uttering a single word and leaves, face burning in shame because he also knows they all heard Puck's threat to him.
Rachel is determined to not give them the satisfaction of seeing her cry and broken. She makes her way to the only place where she can get some much needed alone time and perhaps get a chance to put things into perspective. She smiles when she sees that the grand piano is sitting off to the side on the stage and quickly walks to it. She lets her fingers fly over the keys before picking a random tune when she feels her iPhone vibrate against her pocket. She pulls out and her first real smile breaks out in what feels like ages. She quickly calls out the text and smiles even broader.
Alex R. - We're sorry we missed your performance, but we're almost back. How about meeting us for a bit before we crawl home?
Rachel quickly types her response.
Sure. When are you guys arriving? You're not the one driving, are you?
A few seconds later, her phone chirps and vibrates again with the reply.
Alex R. - Should be pulling in to your school in about ten tops, & no. Gabe is, so relax.
Rachel smiles sadly before she types her reply.
I've got Glee meeting in a few. I doubt it's anything important. Let me show up and hear whatever Mr. Schue has to say and I'll meet you guys in the parking lot?
Rachel hits send and waits patiently for the reply, which again, comes within a few seconds.
Alex R. - Cool. But, instead we'll sneak in the auditorium and wait for you here. For such a shitty school, the place has awesome acoustics.
Rachel smiles at the message. She is tempted to skip Glee and just hide in the auditorium until she can meet Alex and the others, but once again, sheer determination kicks in, and she'll be damned if she is going to let Finn take away the only extracurricular activity she sort of enjoys. Wiping her eyes dry, she picks up her purse and pulls out a compact to check her appearance. Once she is happy with how she looks, she squares her shoulders and walks to the choir room with her head held high. Soon, she can escape with her unlikely group of friends, but now, she has business to take care of.
The remaining members of New Directions minus Puck and Finn sit around the choir room killing time until it's time for their meeting. They spare shame filled glances at each other as they replay the conversation they overheard (eavesdropped) between Finn and Rachel and Puck's parting words before he stormed out. Most of them silently agree that the Mohawked boy is right. No matter how she is treated, Rachel has always been willing to put her feelings aside and help each and every one of them when it was needed. Then, they would grudgingly tolerate her and sometimes even treat her nice, only to treat her like shit all over again once the emergency was over.
"Santana and Quinn have the right attitude. Just because the girl is desperate for friends, doesn't mean that we should be the ones to save her from herself. Rachel is a diva and a blabbermouth, and each time she opens that big mouth of hers to put us down I just want to hit her as well." Mercedes finally says, trying to justify their behaviour.
"Shut the hell up Mercedes. You want to continue being a first class bitch to Rachel, then go ahead, but leave me out of it. You don't get to use me to ease your conscience and justify your shitty actions." Quinn says through clenched teeth as she levels her with a look. "I for one am ashamed of my behaviour. Yes, Rachel is overly critical of us, but if you think about it, every time she, as Mercedes so kindly put it, put us down, it has always been about our singing and our lack of effort. She has never attacked us on a personal level. I agree with Puck, enough is enough. We're supposed to be teammates and we're supposed to have each other's backs. And before you say we do, let me remind you that you're all sadly mistaken. We might behave like a team, but we always leave out our captain. We gang up on her and just attack her because she is a willing escape goat." Quinn continues, shocking every person there. Between Santana, Puck, and her, they have made sure Rachel's life has been a living hell since her transfer during freshman year, so seeing and hearing her defend the diva is a really foreign sight.
Quinn looks on with disgust, understanding what Puck was feeling. The shame and guilt are overwhelming.
Sam tries to help by putting a comforting arm around her shoulders. "It's not a big deal. I have dealt with Rachel a few times since I transferred here and she is a bit of a diva. It's hard to be nice to someone like her. We'll just continue to ignore her and that'll be it. I mean, she did call us 'Ken and Barbie'." Sam says trying to play everything down, and like Mercedes, justify his own behaviour, since he never gave Rachel a chance, opting instead to climb the ranks of McKinley's hierarchy by doing the easiest and quickest thing. Torment and tease Rachel Berry, resident overachiever and loser. It doesn't help that everything he knows about the diva is through everyone's perspective instead of his own.
"Don't you dare try to belittle this. You weren't here last year, or the year before that. You don't get to swoop in and hear skewed versions of the events and make your judgements." Quinn hisses as she slaps his arm away.
"What the hell? I understand you feel guilty, but it's not that big of a deal. In every school, there are winners and losers. We happen to be the winners and she happens to be one of the losers. That's life. Besides, you're just feeling like shit because Puck reminded you of certain unfortunate events from last year." Sam says with shrug of his shoulders.
The rest of the people there brace themselves for the explosion, and they're not disappointed.
Quinn stiffens at the words. She shouldn't feel so outraged, because in reality, she has said a lot worse to Rachel but at least she has always said them to the girl's face. Hearing those words coming out of Sam makes something within Quinn snap like a taut violin string given too much tension. She slowly gets up and judging by the glint in her eyes and her body posture, every single person there save for Sam, know that it will be the Head Bitch In Charge who will be speaking and not their fellow Glee clubber. They all brace for the shit storm about to be unleashed.
"Says the boy who puts lemon juice on his hair thinking that by being blond he'll be better accepted and have an easier climb to being popular. Says the closeted sci-fi geek who can quote and speak made up languages from TV shows and movies. What you called 'certain unfortunate events' was one of the most difficult times of my life. You have no idea what happened then, so you have no right to mention any of it. You try to pass yourself up as this self-assured boy, but you're nothing but a follower, just like the rest of us. You came in here and joined Glee because Finn convinced you it was the ticket to popularity. You joined the football team because jocks tend to be popular. You started to torment and tease Rachel, despite the fact that she was your best friend's girlfriend just because it was the easiest ticket to being popular. And when Puck of all people tells us what a bunch of sheep we have been, you go and act like a five year old trying to justify why it's ok to steal cookies." Quinn says, all of a sudden Rachel's words about losing herself while in a relationship echo loudly in her mind. She looks at Sam's shocked face and her hands and realises with startling clarity that once again, she has let her fear and others dictate her life. A look of disgust crosses her face as she pulls off the promise ring he had given her and drops it by his feet, just when Puck makes his way back to the choir room after cooling off a bit.
"Consider us officially over. I knew it was too soon for anything. I should have just followed my instincts. Instead, I allowed my fears to rule me again." Quinn adds as she moves away to sit on the opposite end of the choir room.
Sam, not one to be humiliated in public, follows Quinn. He reaches over and is about to grab Quinn's wrist to turn her around when Puck steps between them.
"I wouldn't dare put a finger on Quinn if I were you, Platypus Lips. I believe the lady told you it's time to go your separate ways." Puck says with fire blazing in his eyes. Mike and Artie move to stand beside Puck as well, each one taking to heart what the self proclaimed badass has said about their behaviour.
Sam takes a look at the three boys standing in front of him, and reluctantly backs off. He could maybe take on Puck and send his sorry ass back to juvie, but with Mike and Artie helping, he knows that any chance of making it with Quinn would go up in smokes if he attacks a kid in a wheelchair.
Before anything else can happen or anything else can be said, Will walks in with Finn, followed shortly by Rachel.
Not surprising at all, the diva walks in giving a weak wave and smile Puck's way. Without sparing a single glance at any of them, and situates herself as far away from the rest as humanly possible and still be in the same room.
Puck quickly returns the wave and moves to sit by the diva. Quinn and Brittany offer the diva a wave and broad smiles, causing Rachel to actually rub her eyes because she is positive she is seeing things. Before she can pinch herself to see if she is awake, Will clears his throat to get everyone's attention on him.
"Okay everyone, despite everything, we managed to pull it off. We can now focus on Regionals and Nationals." Will says to the subdued cheers of everyone.
"We heard that Miss P. married the finest dentist there is over the weekend. Sorry things didn't work out between the two of you, Mr. Schue." Santana says.
"Thank you, but I'd rather not talk about that right now. Besides, the important thing is that she's happy." Will says with a shrug of his shoulder. "We've had a lot of drama these past few weeks leading up to Sectionals and beyond, so I figured a little informal singing should help us get our focus back. How would you like the next solo Rachel?" Will adds, trying to ease his own guilt after accidentally hearing what Puck had to say to the others.
"If it's all the same to you Mr. Schue, I'll pass. I really don't feel like singing right now so I will defer to our unsung heroes, Tina and Mercedes." Rachel says with a forced smile. 'At least not with my present company.' She thinks.
"I don't have to be told twice. Hell yeah, it's about time the rest of you acknowledged my talent." Mercedes says looking pointedly at Rachel as Will hands out sheet music around.
Rachel quickly pulls out her iPhone and fires out a quick text.
Nothing important is going on here, so I'm on my way to the auditorium. – R
"Mr. Schue, since we're not really going to focus on our upcoming competitions, I will take my leave." Rachel tells Will once she puts her phone away. "I'll see you tomorrow Noah. Thanks for everything." She adds turning to Puck and pecking him softly on his cheek before she leaves the choir room without a backwards glance. One glare from both Puck and Quinn stops anyone from uttering a single negative word.
Rachel then makes her way to the auditorium and when she sees her friends, she launches herself into Alex's arms.
"God, you're a sight for sore eyes." Rachel mumbles into his chest before all the tears that she has been holding back come spilling out.
"Hey, what's wrong my Little Robin?" Alex asks the sobbing girl in his arms. The others gather around, ready to kick ass, all familiar with the way Rachel is treated in this school.
Rachel eventually pulls away enough to tell them a condensed version of what has happened to her since they last spoke. "Don't do anything stupid Alex. I know you want to pound his sorry behind, but you need to take into account that you're twenty-one while the rest are still underage. Besides, they're not worth it." Rachel says once she feels the arms holding her tensing.
"Come on guys, time is a-wasting here. We need to make it home soon, before we get disowned. And we still need to cheer up our Little Robin." Gabe, the other young man in the group walks around the stage and sets up the instruments that are already there from previous practices.
"What do you feel like singing Rach?" Kelly, the last person with the group asks Rachel as she takes her place by the drums. They all know the quickest way to cheer the young brunette is through song.
"I think it'll be better if you guys choose. If it's up to me, we'll end up doing something sad and depressing because that's what I feel like right now." Rachel says as she takes her place on the piano bench.
"Nope, if it's sad and depressing songs you want, then it's sad and depressing songs we'll do. At least for now. Besides, we all know you need your fair share of sad and depressing songs before you can start to feel better." Alex says as he lets his pick fly around a few test chords on the electric guitar he is 'borrowing', trying to get a feel for the instrument and to make sure it's tuned properly. "What does your perfect pitched ear tell you, my Little Robin? Is this guitar tuned to your expectations?" Alex adds with a goofy smile.
"Yeah, everything is fine. We just used them to practice for Sectionals and it doesn't appear as if anyone has touched them since. Uh, how long do you guys have before you have to leave?" Rachel asks, not wanting the others the get in trouble because of her.
"Depending on length, we can do two, three songs probably. So, what do you feel like singing?" Gabe asks.
"You really don't have let me pick, or even do this right now…" Rachel starts to say as she lets her fingers fly over the piano keys before she is interrupted.
"Come on Rach. Just pick something because the longer you put it off, the longer we'll be here, and the bigger the chances our parents are going to get pissy and not help us with our loads of laundry" Gabe says as he starts to hum a few bars here and there in preparation.
"Fine. How about we start with 'burning in the skies' and finish off with 'waiting for the end'? Rachel suggests, choosing songs she doesn't really need to warm up for, but kind of describe how she feels. They should be out of McKinley within fifteen minutes.
"Ooh! Good angsty choices. Good rhythm to both songs. Ok, count us in Kel." Alex says in approval.
"Ok. On the count of four everyone. One, two, three, four…" Kelly says knocking her 'borrowed' sticks against each other. Then the sound of the piano fills the entire auditorium before Alex's guitar and Gabe's bass joins them, soon after Kelly's drums sets the rhythm of the song and Rachel allows herself to lose herself in song and escape even if it's just for a short moment. She'll face the real world soon enough.