N/A Hey :) I thought I would first quickly tell you some things that you might want to know before you start reading this Fanfic. This is my second story I have written, my first one is called 'It Starts With A Slap', which you should take a look at if you would like to! :)

Basically, this is a Faberry Fanfic and is set at the very beginning of Senior Year. I am using the same characters from Glee, but making them my own, if that makes sense.

There will be humour, smut and maybe some angst into the story.

Also, the title of this story will become more apparent in a couple of chapters in :)

So, I hope you enjoy and please leave reviews if you have time, so that I know what people think! :)

P.S. I don't own Glee or any of the characters, though I would love to.


1st of September 2011 and all the McKinley students are coming back to school after having six fun-packed weeks off. For many, it will be their last year before they all go their own ways and enter the big wide world to start their own adventures, depending on what they chose to do. As the first bell of the day rings throughout the crowded hallways, students rush to their first class of the day, all dreading having to sit back down in those cold plastic chairs and listen to information they really don't care too much about.

All of the senior students had to go to their first class, except for a special few. These were the kids from the Glee Club, the most disrespected group in McKinley, just because they were different. Only a small amount of people could see that they were different because they were unique. Mr Figgins, the head teacher of McKinley, had given special permission for the Glee kids to have a meeting in the morning, meaning they had to miss their first lessons. This was all down to Mr Schuester, the Glee Club's teacher. Mr Schue, as the kids liked to call him, was in his mid 30s and had short, curly brown hair which was always styled with a little gel and would constantly wear his signature argyle vests. If you asked one of the Glee kids to describe Mr Schue, they would probably say that he was nice, supportive and good fun, but he did have the tendency to be a little selfish, especially when it came down to picking out the songs they were going to sing. The kids had gotten used to letting him decide, but suffice to say, they were all pretty decent at singing 'Journey' songs, they have had a lot of practise. Mr Schue had told Mr Figgins that he would really like to speak to the kids first thing, just so they could organise when Glee Club would be held and to just have a general catch-up.

Hearing the news, the Glee Kids all made their way down the deserted hallway and into the choir room, which sat just opposite the toilets and in the middle of a wall of lockers. Light yellow walls, a laminated, worn, pale floor, some drums, a couple of guitars and some trumpets were what the choir room entailed. It wasn't the height of glamour, but it held fond memories for every single one of the Glee Club, all different; some good, some bad.

Mr Schue was standing next to the piano waiting eagerly, when he heard the familiar footsteps of his favourite group of students. They all walked in one-by-one and greeted Mr Schue in their own distinctive way.

First to come in was Noah Puckerman; the school's badass, but most of his friends call him Puck. Leather jackets and jeans were his style and he would try and intimidate younger students, but at the end of day, he is like a big friendly giant. If someone was special to him or he had a lot of respect for them, then he would do anything for them and protect them against anything that showed a threat.

As he walked passed Mr Schue, he shot him a high five, but as Mr Schue went to smack his hand, he swooped it under and laughed out loud, before taking his seat next to the band's equipment.

Second to make their appearance was Sam Evans. Sam was mostly known for his big mouth and his bright blonde hair, but he was also becoming known for being an amazing synchronised swimmer, as he presented when he took part in the school championship during the summer. He was a charmer and would always try and impress people with his humour. Even though he wasn't that good at jokes, you couldn't help but laugh and think he was cute. One person did fall for his charm and humour over the summer and that was one Mercedes Jones, who happened to walk in right behind him holding his hand.

Mercedes was a curvy, coloured girl with a powerful voice and the attitude to go with it. She wasn't mean or bitchy but she would always put her opinion across, but made sure that she wasn't hurting anyone in the process. Since meeting Sam over the summer, she has become less spoilt about wanting to be the solo singer or having the biggest role in the numbers they performed, which for many members of the club is probably a good thing.

Sam and Mercedes shot Mr Schue a smile before taking their seats next to Puck, immediately commencing in a deep discussion about their summer holidays.

A little while after, a blonde, long haired girl made her way through the door. This was Quinn Fabray. Mainly known for being Lima's Young Model of the Year in 2010 and is in high rankings for the same award this year. Quinn's summer was more interesting than some, as this summer Quinn came out to her parents and peers. She always knew she was gay, since a very young age, so she didn't see any reason not to just be and let people know. Telling her parents was easier than imagined. Judy, Quinn's mom, took a little longer to get used to the idea than her father, Tony, but came around to it eventually and was happy for her daughter, as long as it didn't come in the way of Quinn's modelling. Today, she was wearing a maroon dress and some black tights, with a pair of dark, red pumps, her hair falling naturally over her feminine shoulders.

Walking shyly past Mr Schue, Quinn said a quick hello and made her way to sit behind Puck, Sam and Mercedes.

As the others were chatting about anything and nothing, Santana Lopez came through the door, hands interlinked with Brittany Pierce. The pair have been inseparable for at least two years, having dated since junior year. They never really came out as it were, they were just best friends one day and then a couple the next, but that was perfect for them, they had never been happier. Santana was head cheerleader of McKinley and Brittany was also a cheerleader, just not as high up in the cheerleading scale. Santana was Latina and had shiny, dark brown hair just below her shoulders, while Brittany has bright, blonde hair like the sun, which she would usually have up in a high ponytail. Santana was a little deviant most of the time and liked to say it as it was, but people always knew there was something deeper about her, but they just couldn't pin point it. Her girlfriend on the other hand was just happy to be alive and you would never see her without a smile plastered on her face. Brittany's mom had passed away two years ago to the silent killer that was cancer. It had been a devastating and heartbreaking time for Brittany, but Santana had been there throughout the whole thing, being her knight in shining armour. On her mom's anniversary, Brittany does a 5km run in aid of her mom's charity and anyone that wanted to join was more than welcome. It was due to be her mom's second anniversary in two weeks time, the 15th of September, so Brittany was always happier around this time. She didn't treat her mom's death with sadness, yes, at the time it was incredibly sad, it was like losing something that you knew you were never going to get back, but now she realised her mom wouldn't want her to be gloomy and keep grieving, she would want her to live the life she has been given and to make the most of everything, so Brittany did. Over the many years at school, Brittany has been picked on for being a little slower in the head than most and not very clever with many subjects, but she was an amazing dancer and no one could ever take that away from her. If anyone targeted Brittany, Santana was the first one to step in and shout in Latin at them about how 'they don't know what Brittany's been through and they should think before they speak' or along those lines.

Brittany skipped past Mr Schue and ran to hug her friends, while Santana casually walked past him and gave him a nod of the head. The pair, in their matching cheerleading outfits, jumped up on the back row to greet their other best friend, Quinn.

The next threesome to come in was Mike Chang, Tina Cohen-Chang and Artie Abrams. Mike was pushing Artie in his wheelchair and Tina was walking behind them. Artie was the only kid in a wheelchair at McKinley, so did have a hard time when it came down to getting around school, but he had all the support from everyone in Glee Club, so he got on well. Unfortunately, he was in a car accident when he was very young and it had damaged his spinal cord beyond repair, but like Brittany, he was happy and lucky to be alive, so made the most of everything. He was a clever kid, so instead of using his body for talent, he used his brain, which had definitely not been damaged. Today he was sporting a blue jumper and some black pants with his unique black, rimmed glasses, which always looked like they were going to slip off, but somehow managed to hang on. Mike, a tall Asian athlete, was quite a quiet boy and didn't really have much to say, but when he did speak, he was always nice and didn't ever judge or pass criticism about anyone. He would always wear his signature converses and some sort of chequered top and skinny jeans. Tina came in after them, playing some sort of game on her iPhone. She was also Asian, just like Mike. Being a goth, she has always been bullied for wearing black, but she was used to it now and ignored it, knowing the bullies weren't worth it.

All three of them, smiled warmly at Mr Schue, before quietly making their way to the group of Glee kids and sat down in the front row.

The last kids were finally making their way into the choir room. Two squabbling boys were next to come in. Kurt Hummel and his step brother Finn Hudson, walked in while they were arguing about who had eaten the rest of the cereal and didn't leave any. Finn was adamant that Kurt had eaten it, but Kurt said that their cat had done the crime, Finn believed him and continued to walk in, but what he obviously didn't seem to realise was that they don't actually have a cat. Kurt and Finn became step brothers last year when their parents fell deeply in love and got married. At first Finn wasn't too sure, as he found it a little weird because Kurt was openly gay and for some reason, this didn't settle right with Finn. Luckily, he is more accepting of it now, but it did take a year. Finn was wearing his normal letterman jacket and jeans, with his hair messy and ruffled, whereas Kurt was the complete opposite, wearing the latest designer jumper and jeans, with fashionable shoes; they couldn't be more different.

Finn strolled past and gave Mr Schue a proper high five, of which Mr Schue delightfully returned, whilst Kurt just strutted past Mr Schue, without really acknowledging him. Finn and Kurt took their seats in the last two seats in the front row and waited for the final person to arrive.

Mr Schue looked around, before counting the number of students and then finally spoke up.

"Right, hi guys! Good to be back. I just wanted to have a little meeting about what days we should have Glee practise on, but before I start, has anyone seen Rachel?"

As if on cue, Rachel Berry finally walked through the door.

"Ahh, you're here, take a seat Rachel," Mr Schue said while smiling and pointing to the seats.

Rachel Berry was definitely known for her voice and her impeccable talent on stage. Rachel was top in pretty much all she did; classes, exams, Glee Club, Maths Club, the debating team etc. She was very head strong and knew what she wanted. People who didn't know her very well, may seem to think that she was completely independent and spoilt, but under the thin layers of strength lay a vulnerable girl, who just wants to have friends and do what she loves. Everyone expected so much from her, if the Glee Club had to prepare a number or compose a song, they would immediately turn to Rachel and as she had a bad problem of never being able to say no, she would always take up on the offer and work her butt off to not let anyone down. In actual fact, she just wanted to be herself and have a laugh and not have so much pressure on her shoulders. Rachel has two gay dads, Michael and Jason, who love that Rachel has become such a lovely young lady, but they do put a lot of pressure on Rachel when it comes to her singing. Unfortunately, Michael and Jason both wanted to be a Broadway star or be able to act and sing, but neither have good voices and neither can act to save their lives, so they want Rachel to make the most of the gift she has been given. She usually wears argyle sweaters and mini chequered skirts with thick woollen tights, but today as she calmly walks across the choir room, she is displaying black skinny jeans, a black vest with a dark, pink shirt over the top, opened down the front and her luscious, shimmering brown hair falling loosely on her shoulders, tucked behind one ear.

She smiles confidently, but not arrogantly at Mr Schue, before hopping onto the back row of chairs and taking a seat next to a grinning Brittany.

As Mr Schue started talking again and people had stopped staring at the newly dressed Rachel, Brittany leaned over to Rachel and whispered so only Rachel could hear.

"You look nice today Rachel, you look different, but a good different," Brittany smiled as she leant back again.

It was now Rachel's turn to lean over to Brittany.

"Well, new school year, new me," Rachel replied with a similar smile.

Rachel went back to her original position and Brittany then leant in again. It was like some sort of game.

"I like the new you, you look gorgeous, but you still are the same Rachel inside right?" Brittany looked worried.

"Of course Brittany," Rachel smiled sympathetically at Brittany, before reaching over and squeezing her hand.

As they both stopped their transitions of whispers, Rachel got out her notepad and went back to listening to Mr Schue, what they hadn't noticed was that Quinn had watched the whole exchange and took in what Rachel had said. Quinn had smiled when she saw Rachel being a little different, she looked happier some how, more content with herself.

As Quinn sat back in her seat, she thought over her and Rachel's past.

Rachel and Quinn had been in the same school since they came into freshman year. Being in different groups and having dissimilar sort of friends meant that they never really noticed each other, or even got to talk to each other. It wasn't until the start of sophomore year that they finally got to know each other's name, as they were in the same Math class. At that time, they knew each other's name and what they looked like, but no more than that. For a whole year, they were civil with each other and treated each other like a friend they didn't know yet. For some reason, no matter how the partners were picked in class, they were always seemed to be paired up for class work. Laughing, chatting and smiling, they soon found out a bit more of each other and what their interests were and what they disagreed on and so on. Unfortunately, due to the stupid system of high school, they never really managed to see each other out of class, as their groups were a little less accepting on hanging with other people.

In the November of junior year, Santana and Brittany finally got together, thus making them even more popular. This was also around the time that Santana was promoted to head cheerleader. Rachel was the target to most bullying, yet from her headstrong personality and her ability to not cry; she managed to keep a low profile and didn't have much trouble for a little while. December in junior year, things changed between Rachel and Quinn. Santana started to bully Rachel a little, the slight name calling here and there, the odd slushy and then it even got to shouting and writing comments on her MySpace page. As Santana enjoyed her position of head cheerleader and the advantages which came with the role, Quinn took a back seat and didn't even try to protect Rachel; she was stuck in the middle and didn't know what to do. In class Rachel would plead her to get Santana to stop, but then on the outside of school, Santana would persuade her to just keep out of it or join in. Quinn thought it was best to keep out of it rather than adding to Rachel's misery, but she so badly wanted it to stop. No one ever really knew why Santana did it, apart from doing it just because, well, because she could. Rachel and Quinn stopped talking for the rest of junior year, thinking it would be easier than trying to discuss the situation; they were only young and felt confused of what to do. Santana eased her bullying towards the end of junior year, mainly because Brittany made her, telling her that it was wrong and Rachel didn't deserve it; no one did. Santana kept her word to Brittany and didn't bully Rachel again. Rachel was pleased to have Brittany on her side and made sure she kept Brittany on her good side.

Over the long, sunny summer, there were various Glee Club get-togethers and parties and in every single one, Rachel avoided Quinn and Quinn didn't attempt to talk to Rachel, not because she didn't want to, she just didn't know how to. Words were a lot harder to say, when you don't have the words in the first place.

As Quinn zoned back into the room from her deep thinking, she realised that Mr Schue, was still talking.

"Okay, so we've sorted that we will meet on Tuesday, Thursday and Fridays after lunchtime, because you all have study frees? Oh, the privileges of being a senior!" Mr Schue laughed.

"Sounds good Mr Schue," Mercedes smiled towards the front.

"Right, well I suppose you can all head off to your classes now, unless you all want to do a quick song just to get back into the swing of things?" Mr Schue smiled widely.

He would pick singing songs in Glee over teaching Spanish any day.

"I'm up for that," Finn smiled from his seat next to Mercedes.

"I'm game!" Puck nodded.

"I think we should sing 'You Can't Stop The Beat' from 'Hairspray', mainly because it's an incredible song and it's upbeat," Kurt helpfully added from his perch next to Finn.

Everyone nodded in agreement, except for Rachel who currently had a notepad on her lap and was writing down something that no one could really see. As people made their way to the front of the choir room, Kurt looked back and saw that Rachel wasn't following. He quickly jogged back over and leant on the chair in front of her.

"Hey Rachel, you're not coming? We're singing… a song… of which you can be the main singer?" Kurt nudged her leg and laughed light-heartedly.

Rachel closed her notepad subtly and tucked it in her bag on the floor next to her, before turning to Kurt and coming back from her daze of writing.

"Sorry Kurt, away with the fairies, yeah, sure, what are we singing?" Rachel smiled sweetly.

"Away with the fairies? That doesn't sound like you," he questioned before continuing, "we're going to sing 'You Can't Stop The Beat'."

"Sounds great!" She grinned quickly, before leaping off the chair and joining the others.

Mr Schue stood to one side and let the kids quickly get ready and let the band prepare themselves before starting.

Rachel stood next to Puck at one side, while all the other were also standing around in some sort of circle.

Mike looked to Tina, Tina looked to Artie and Artie looked over to Quinn and Santana, who looked towards Finn, before all eyes fell on one oblivious Rachel.

"Umm, hey Rachel, you're not going to sing up front?" Finn asked while shifting awkwardly on his feet.

"Yeah, go on Rach, we need someone to start us off," Tina smiled from the opposite side.

Rachel looked around the circle, to find pleading eyes on her. She thought it through; she really was trying to start fresh this year, make sure people realise that she was different now, not wanting to be the center of attention as much and would rather write in her notepad than sing a song, but as she looked into the eyes of her fellow Glee Club members, she realised that she would have to introduce the new her a bit more slow, just so people don't go questioning everything.

"Of course I will, I wouldn't want this number falling apart now would I," she smiled and nodded her head, before marching into the centre of the circle, and tapping her foot, counting the band in.

"You can't stop an avalanche, as it races down the hill…"

As the Glee kids sang their hearts out and bopped around to the upbeat song, Mr Schue breathed under his breath, "there's the Rachel Berry I know," before smiling and joining in with the dancing.

Everyone's attention was either on themselves or a friend during the number, but Quinn's thoughts and eyes were elsewhere. She saw the way Rachel had approached this number, it was almost as though she really didn't want to sing, or wanted someone else to sing it at least. All in Glee Club had noticed that Rachel's style had changed, how could you not? But when she hesitates to be the main singer in a number, then you start to think something is not right. Quinn looked around, and no one else seemed to be that bothered about Rachel's attitude. Quinn shook the thoughts away and went back to bouncing around with her friends, before the next class started.

~O~O~O~O~O~O~

As the final bell rang for the end of day, students gushed into the hallways. The clangs and bangs of lockers opening and shutting filled the hallways, before all the students quickly dispersed just as quickly as they came, before running to catch their bus and casually stroll home with their friends.

Santana met Quinn at their lockers after school just at the right time.

"Fabray, how's it going?" Santana gave her a quick nudge to the arm, before putting her folders into her locker.

"I'm okay, first day wasn't too bad, except they already gave us a history assignment and it's only been the first day!" Quinn whined before banging her head lightly against her locker to exaggerate her annoyance.

"Damn, unlucky," Santana remarked, not seeming like she really listened.

"Yours?" Quinn asked, before copying Santana's actions of exchanging her folders.

"You know… same old. Seems like we never even left this place," she shrugged.

Quinn laughed before closing her locker and turning to face Santana.

"You didn't see a change in Rachel today did you?" Quinn asked randomly.

"With her clothes, hell yeah. She actually looked, as much as I hate to say it, pretty good. It suits her," Santana replied, before checking her phone.

Quinn nodded before continuing.

"No, with her attitude? Like, the way she went about… everything?" Quinn probed.

She wanted to think that it wasn't just her that was recognising the changes in the little brunette.

"Don't know. She didn't seem too bothered about the number this morning, but maybe it's just because she didn't get her choice of song or something, who knows," Santana shrugged once again, before picking up her bag and starting to walk down the hallway, beckoning Quinn to follow.

"I don't know, as she didn't really say her song choice, she didn't even push about being main singer. I am probably just thinking too much about it, but you know, I do care about her, we became really good friends, before… all of that stuff happened," Quinn sighed sadly, remembering the friendship she used to have with Rachel.

As they made their way out of the school doors, Santana stopped and turned Quinn by her shoulders to look at her.

"Right, you just need to talk to her. You avoided her all summer and to be honest, the whole thing wasn't even your fault, it was mine. I was a bitch to her and hell, it was hilarious, but I've stopped now. What's stopping you talking to her now? You were friends right? Nothing is stopping you from being friends again. I don't really like her all that much, though if she stays with this new persona she's got going on, hell, I might even become to like her," Santana chuckled before swaying down the school path and walking towards her home.

Quinn stood there for a little while, taking in what Santana had stated. There wasn't anything stopping her, it's just she was scared of how Rachel would react to her talking to her again, because at the end of the day, Quinn wasn't there for her friend when she really should have been. Quinn had been a coward and needed to make it up to her; she just needed some time to get to know the brunette again, before she could strike that fun friendship they once had.

Quinn smiled to herself, before plugging in her iPod and casually making her way home.

~O~O~O~O~O~O~