Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, as much as I like to believe I do.

Dancing With The Devil

Chapter One

Rachel let her hands wrap around the pole, before jumping up onto it gracefully, wrapping her thighs around the metal before spinning around it twice. She smirked as she jumped, quickly catching onto the pole with her hands, holding herself up, before spreading her legs, hearing the moans and shouts of pleasure from the guys in the crowd, money being chucked on the stage as she continued with her well-practised routine before slowly, teasingly sliding down the pole.

Once her feet touched solid ground, she moved to centre stage, slowly taking the remaining clothes she had off, leaving her in nothing but her panties and a pair of stockings. She let guys touch her as she walked past them, winking at them, her hips swaying to the music. Her routine was perfected after almost two years of being on the same stage, and she found herself strangely proud of the fact that guys sometimes came here just to see her.

She grinned when the music ended, giving one last shake of her hips before moving backstage, getting re-dressed. "Rachel, there's a guy in room one who requested a private dance from you." She nodded and flicked her hair back, checking her reflection quickly before walking to room one.

It was at three in the morning when she finally stumbled from the bar, having finished work two hours ago – she had decided against going to the apartment she still shared with Kurt, because another lecture would more than likely occur about how she should have been home, how she should have been in bed already because she had college in the morning. It was like living with her father.

She giggled and held onto the man she had just met, placing a sloppy kiss on his lips, gripping onto him when he pulled her closer. "My place." She slurred, walking with him, glad that her apartment was not very far from her apartment. She grinned when he gripped onto her hips, his tongue darting along her neck as they climbed the stairs. She finally staggered into the small two bedroom apartment she had shared since she and Kurt had arrived in New York over three years ago, not even noticing the 'party' he had going on as she turned around to bring the guy closer, kissing him deeply as he pressed her against the wall.

"Rachel?"

~ .. ~

Kurt sighed, knocking Rachel's bedroom door before opening it, seeing the empty bed once again. He needed a chance to tell her about the Glee reunion that he had arranged – everyone was coming to New York, so they could all catch up and he hadn't even gotten a chance to warn Rachel. They had all stayed in contact over the years, apart from Rachel. Every time someone asked about her, he would have to avoid all questions because he was ashamed, not just of her and this new Rachel that had taken over, but of himself for letting it get this far.

He shook his head and frowned, shutting the bedroom door before turning around to look around the empty apartment. He knew he should have asked someone for help, but two years ago he honestly thought it was a bad reaction to her break-up, and then when she started taking drugs, he convinced himself that it was a phase, and by the time he finally realized it was so much more than Finn breaking her heart, it was too late. And he was too scared to finally admit to people that he needed help to deal with Rachel.

He took a deep breath, wanting to avoid any questions anyone had about Rachel, knowing this wouldn't work. The former Glee club would be in New York for a week, and he knew most of that would be spent in this very apartment – the apartment where Rachel lived too.

He had been excited about catching up with everyone finally, but now he was dreading it. And by the time for them to all arrive had come, he was panicking about how much they would hate him for not asking for help. He tried to convince himself that Rachel was a grown adult, and she had to make her own decisions in life but he felt responsible for the girl who was supposed to be his best friend; even though they had both quickly fallen into just the 'room mate' relationship for the past two years.

He was glad the topic hadn't even be approached, none of them even realizing the time as they caught up on each other's lives. He was happy to know Tina and Mike were going to be married soon, Sam and Mercedes were expecting their first child, Quinn and Puck had finally accepted their feelings for each other and were even allowed Beth over once a week and Santana and Brittany were still happy together. He caught up on all their lives, giving only brief details on his own as he tried to avoid eye contact with Blaine – they had both decided their promise to each other was too much last year, and had quickly ended their 'friends with benefits' status to avoid any more heart-break.

It was Santana who finally approached the subject they had all been trying to avoid – there was only one member of the Glee club who hadn't kept in contact with everyone, and it was Rachel. Everyone else had the odd phone-call, or the odd visit, they always tried to make the effort, but Rachel hadn't been heard from since the day she left for New York after her and Finn had broken up. "Where is Rachel? Does she live with you anymore?"

Kurt sighed and nodded, "She does live with me, but she's never here. She does her own things these days." Everyone noticed the way he suddenly closed up, chewing on his lower lip as he tried to avoid any further questioning, avoiding his brother's gaze. Kurt knew that Finn was always going to be in his life, he was his brother but he had never been able to forgive him for breaking Rachel Berry. Rachel was his best friend, she had been the one to go to New York with him, the girl still meant to much to him but she was broken, and he could only blame Finn for that.

Finn looked down the moment Rachel's name was mentioned, he had been meaning to ask about her all night, he always asked when Kurt came home for holidays, but he felt wrong in front of the group – he was pretty sure that Puck, Mercedes, Kurt and Quinn were still mad at him for breaking the girls heart.

Santana never got hints though, "Where does she go?" Kurt groaned and rubbed his eyes,

"Look, guys.. I have something to tell you.. she's not the Rachel she was in high school, okay?" He ignored the 'thank god' that came from Santana, shooting her a glare, "She's different, she's hurting and she's changed so much and.." He didn't get to finish, when the door slammed open, revealing Rachel and some random guy. "Not again." He muttered, slowly moving to stand up. "Rachel."

She finally turned to look at them all, giggling, "Oh, a family reunion! How fucking adorable." She rolled her eyes and stumbled off towards her bedroom,

"What the fuck, Berry?" Puck stood up, glaring at the man behind her as he stood in front of the door he assumed to be her bedroom. "Fuck off, dude." Quinn looked at her husband-to-be and shook her head,

"Puck, don't get involved." She looked from the man to Puck, and then over at Kurt who had visibly paled. She bit down on her lip, knowing this wasn't just a one time thing, Rachel Berry really wasn't the same girl she had been in high school. She glanced at Finn who was looking down at the ground, and she ignored the part of her that was telling her to feel sorry for the guy. "You did this." She hissed, before standing up.

Blaine was the next to stand up, along with Santana who was ready to go all 'Lima Heights Adjacent' on the guy in question, her eyes warning him as he slowly backed off. "Bitch, I want my stash back." He looked over at Rachel who just rolled her eyes,

"You know, you really should learn to wait until after I fuck you before you give me your stuff. Let it be a lesson for the future." The Glee club were in shock, their eyes darting from Rachel to the red-faced man, who was stopped from lunging at her by Puck, Blaine and Mike. Rachel just stood her ground and as Quinn looked on, she wasn't sure what she was more scared of – the lack of fear, or of any reaction from Rachel, or the fact that this guy looked about ready to murder the girl.

"How much does she owe you, man?" Mike pushed him back towards the door,

"Sixty bucks, the bitch." Mike didn't hesitate before pulling the money from his wallet, chucking it at the stranger, who just shot one more warning glance over at Rachel before walking out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

"Fuck, Rach.." Puck ran a hand through his mohawk,shaking his head in shock and disappointment, moving quickly over to Quinn, to wrap his arms around her. She wrapped her own arms around him, trying to calm him down.

"Give me the drugs, Rachel." Kurt was the next to break the shocked silence of the room that had been so full of laughter and chatter before Rachel had arrived, "Give them to me now." His voice was firm, as though he was speaking to a naughty child, holding out his hand as Rachel just glared at him.

"Leave me alone." She muttered, trying to barge past him but Santana moved to hold the girl in a vice-like grip, "Give him the fucking drugs, Berry. Don't push me." Kurt didn't miss a moment as he searched through the girl's pockets, pulling out a small bag,

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop doing this?" Blaine took the bag from his ex-boyfriend's hand, moving to the bathroom to flush it down the toilet. The rest of the group remained in the main room, all of them too astounded to even speak, none of them believing that this was the Rachel Berry that had bossed them around in high school, that this was the Rachel Berry that led them to their first win at Nationals during her senior year.

Brittany just looked at the girl, being the first to fully take in her attire – a barely there skirt, and a top that showed her stomach. She was leaving nothing to the imagination. Rachel struggled in Santana's arms, finally getting away from her to face up to Kurt, "Stop telling me what to do. We live together, you're not my fucking friend. You're nothing more than someone I have to live with, got it?" Her words were bitter, the only thing giving her away being the tears in her eyes before she turned around, entering her bedroom to slam the door behind her.

Kurt flinched, tears falling down his face before he moved over to the couch, sinking down to his previous seat, holding a cushion close to his chest. "What happened to her?" Quinn whispered, taking her own seat next to him, thinking she already knew the answer as she looked over to Finn, who still hadn't looked up from the floor.

"She just.. I don't know.. I thought it was because of Finn, so I let it go on for a while and now it's been two years and I just think.. she's just lost. She just can't find any reason to be the way she used to be.. s-she sleeps around, she takes drugs, she gets drunk pretty much every night, the goes to her classes but that's the only thing she keeps up. It's by some miracle that she's made it through." He wiped his eyes, sighing, "She works as a stripper... and it kills me to see how much she is hurting but there is nothing I can do about it because I left it too late. I was too scared to ask for help because Rachel is her own person, you know? But I know if I had intervened, maybe this would be so different."

Artie frowned and shook his head, "Dude, this isn't your fault. Rachel made her own decisions.." There was a grumble of agreement throughout the group, but most of them remained silent.

Sam finally looked up, his hand in Mercedes, "She.. when I was working as a stripper.. she was telling me that I was better than that.. why doesn't she believe the same for herself?" He sighed, looking at the closed bedroom door. Finn remained silent, tears falling down his face, not being able to move.

"I-I broke up with her because I thought.. I thought she deserved so much more than me. I'm destined to stay in Lima, working as a mechanic.. or as the next football coach.. s-she was destined for so much more so I had to let her go.. I had to, because I couldn't move to New York because I'm not good enough, and I wouldn't let her settle in Lima..." It was the first time he had said the truth out loud, gulping before looking up to see the faces of those who were best friends with the couple.

"You broke her heart." Kurt whispered, "You had good intentions but you broke her heart.. and I don't know how to get our Rachel back, I don't know if it's too late or if I have to be patient. I don't know what to do, Finn. You need to fix this." Kurt bit down on his lip, looking over at the bedroom door, wanting nothing more than to have the Broadway crazed diva as his room-mate again.

The boy could only nod, "She had a miscarriage." He winced at the memory, "She was only eighteen, and I realized that if.. if she had the baby, or if we continued.. i-it might happen again and she would be stuck in Lima and it would be all my fault." He sniffed, wiping his eyes on the back of his sleeve, "We didn't tell anyone because.. it hurt too much to even think about. Rachel wanted to try and move on, but it was proving impossible. I had to do what was best for her."

There was a long silence, before Quinn spoke up, "She lost the baby? And then you broke up with her?" Her eyes flashed with anger at the other boy, and Puck tightened his arms around her, shaking his head.

"It was for the best." Finn repeated, looking defeated,

"Clearly fucking not." Santana shot back at him, the only thing stopping her from lunging at the boy being Brittany's hand on her arm, offering comfort to calm down the angry girl. She sat back, just glaring at the boy, shaking her head as she muttered Spanish curse words under her breath.

"Fix this." Mercedes repeated Kurt's words from earlier, looking over at Finn with a sympathetic look for the first time, giving him a small smile when he nodded, biting down on his lip. He had no idea how much damage control it would take to fix two years of pain, two years of changing her whole personality. He sighed, blaming himself for the mess, knowing that even if Rachel wanted him far away from her, he could be the only person to fix the mess he had created.

"I'll try." He whispered, not being able to say anything else, the whole group falling into complete and utter silence once more, all of them thinking about the diva that was in the room across from them.