Summary: Sunshine's first week as a Carmel student doesn't end as expected.

Disclaimers: Unfortunately, not mine. If they were, Rachel would hook up with anyone but Finn.

Spoilers: To 'Funk' and 'Audition' mostly.

Author's Note: Surfing through the Glee fanfiction archives, I ran into the Sunshine section. Hence, this.

here, there, everywhere

#3: oh simple thing where have you gone?

The small Filipino girl stood in front of the huge building, its classic architecture a stark contrast to the common look of the school she used to go to until a week ago. Her eyes darkened as she remembered the prank, being sent to an inactive crack house, the panic and the fear that gripped at her heart until two young members of the tiny Asian community in Lima found her and drove her back home. She shook her head slowly, trying to clear her brain from the memories and the hurt. "New school, new life", she whispered to herself the sentence that had become her mantra, her motto, for seven days now, squaring her shoulders and holding her head up high as she marched towards the double wooden doors.

Teenage bodies moved in the wide halls, talking in doubles, trios or groups, some keeping quietly to themselves as they busied with picking up the books and binders they'd need for the school day, others lazily hanging out by their lockers making time until the hour came for their classes. Having been instructed by the school's show choir coach to go find him everyday once she arrived at Carmel High – house of the much respected Vocal Adrenaline, four-time national champion – Sunshine Corazon went to the auditorium, frowning as she heard the sounds coming from inside it, the muffled noise of a song slipping from under the locked doors (she tested the doorknobs, uselessly). "I wonder what's happening in there", she asked herself, lowly, but shrugged and flitted back to the busy halls, going to the registration offices so she could ask for directions for her first class of the day.

As she walked towards the cafeteria for lunch, Sunshine mused over the obvious absence from class of several senior members of Vocal Adrenaline – especially the handsome former male lead, Jesse St. James, who had ruled the team until the end of the previous term, and, rumor had it, postponed going to UCLA on a full ride so he could win back his ex-girlfriend (Sunshine sighed dreamily as she wondered who was the lucky bitch, because St. James was the boyfriend every mother wanted for her daughter).

"Funny how all VA members were out of class today, don't you think?" Sunshine asked Janelle Stevens, a girl from her Chemistry class, who looked wide-eyed at her.

"Haven't you heard?" Janelle asked, rolling her eyes at the curious glance Sunshine sent her way. "Of course not, otherwise you wouldn't be making this question. Uh, actually, only the veterans on VA were allowed to miss their classes for the morning – you know, the ones who decide who get in after auditions and who's dismissed? Giselle, Andrea, Chris… Jesse and coach Goolsby called them last night ordering them to come bright and early. Apparently, some new girl wanted to try out for VA, and she's close with Jesse. She must be good – I mean…" Janelle shut up as they walked in the cafeteria, eyes wandering out of habit to the VA table, and widening in shock as she saw an unknown girl sitting there. "Holy shit, she has to be good! I mean, she's sitting at their table already – and…" Janelle silenced again, jaw falling to the floor as she saw Jesse lean against the unknown girl and press a kiss to her temple. "Well, I'll be damned. I bet my Prada our mysterious candidate is Jesse's infamous girlfriend". She smiled. "Looks like he won her back after all".

Sunshine, confused, looked towards the way Janelle was looking, and felt her jaw drop to the floor while her heart tore open. Because she recognized the petite brunette sitting next to Jesse, his arm thrown over her shoulders, a smile curving her lips as he whispered into her ear.

She knew the brunette who leant in towards Jesse St. James, pressing a quick but sweet kiss to his lips, his smirking mouth meeting her smiling one as the other Vocal Adrenaline members watched his former-male-lead-turned-assistant-coach whisper two unmistakable words against her lips. Love you.

"It's Rachel Berry", she mumbled, shocked. Janelle gasped, eyes going from Rachel and Jesse to Sunshine and back.

"The McKinley High glee club lead?" The blonde girl asked, frowning. Sunshine nodded, and Janelle's frown deepened, noticing the shock in the Filipina's face.

No. No way. She can't be a part of VA. "Maybe she's not a member of Vocal Adrenaline", she stammered, trying to sound convinced. "I mean, she's obviously his… His girlfriend", Sunshine all but spat the last word, with disdain dripping from her lips, Janelle raising her eyebrows at this. "So, she can just be sitting there because she's dating him, not because she's part of the team".

"Well", Janelle grinned conspiratorially. "We can go ask", she said as she looped her arm around Sunshine's and pulled her towards the wide Vocal Adrenaline table. Sunshine's eyes never left Jesse and Rachel, who were now talking animatedly with Chris and Andrea, Jesse's arm still around Rachel's shoulder, her back pressed against his chest. Jesse every now and then pressed kisses to Rachel's neck and shoulder, always grinning. When he spoke, Rachel would look adoringly up at him, like she couldn't believe this was actually happening.

"Hey, guys!" Janelle called brightly, heads turning towards her. Janelle was part of Carmel's arts program, only she was a painter instead of a performer – but, in Carmel, the arts program's members all frequented the same circles, so it wasn't surprising that Andrea, Jesse, Chris and several others smiled and greeted her. "Sunshine and I missed you in class this morning! Hi, I'm Janelle", the perky blonde held her hand out to Rachel, who smiled shyly and held her own hand out, shaking Janelle's.

"Rachel Berry", she said, before turning to Sunshine with a guarded look on her face. "Good morning, Sunshine".

"Berry", Sunshine nodded stiffly at her before smiling shyly at Jesse. "Hey, Jesse", she said, missing the obviously suspicious way Rachel narrowed her eyes at her and fighting down the frown at the way Jesse's eyes were lit up with amusement, a smirk on his lips – and not the charming kind of smirk that made Sunshine's heart race and her stomach flutter with excitement.

No… This time, Jesse's smirk was a mixture of amusement and pride, amusement at Sunshine and pride at Rachel. Like he knew what kind of humiliation Rachel had put Sunshine through and reveled in it. It made Sunshine's cheeks burn, not in flirtatious embarrassment, but in downright shame. "Hey, Corazon, how are you?"

"I've had better days", she answered truthfully. "You?"

"Never been better", he replied, eyes moving down to meet Rachel's, who blushed adorably and smiled. "So, I guess you've met my girlfriend, Rachel? Rachel's a Carmel student now", his voice was thick with joy and pride, and Rachel giggled. Sunshine nearly gagged on it, and couldn't help the little jab.

"Last I heard she was dating Finn Hudson", the Filipina said sweetly, making Rachel's contented smile vanish and Jesse frown. But before any of them could reply, Andrea smirked.

"Jealous much, Corazon?"

Sunshine rolled her eyes. "Of Berry? Please. She can't handle a little competition, that's why she sent me to that crack house". A smirk curved the Filipina's lips, Janelle watching in astounded shock. "She felt threatened by my talent".

Jesse's eyes, dark with anger, were stormy as he prepared to put Sunshine on her place, but Rachel beat him to it. Smiling up at Sunshine, she leant back on his embrace, while his two arms came to rest on her shoulders, his entwined hands leaning on her shirt.

"Threatened? By you?" A big laugh escaped her lips. "Thanks, I needed this", she said as she falsely wiped theatrical tears from her eyes. Rachel leant back in Jesse's arms, a condescending smile curving her lips as she stared Sunshine down with clear pity. "Please, Sunshine. Look at me then take a good – and I mean good– look at you. Who is better? I mean – I'm more beautiful, more talented, more driven, stronger, tougher and somehow I still am taller. If anything, what I wanted to avoid by sending you to that inactive crackhouse was to have stolen from me more solos that I deserved".

"Aye, aye!" Jesse called enthusiastically, making the others laugh.

"Thanks, baby", Rachel replied, giggling, before she turned back to Sunshine. "Besides, I was invited to join Vocal Adrenaline-"

"So was I!" Sunshine yelled, trembling with fury; Andrea and Giselle snorted disbelievingly, eyebrows raised so high that they almost mingled with their hair roots.

"No. You were bribed. Coach Goolsby shook the condo and the visa in front of you and off you went", Rachel shot back. "I had nothing to gain leaving McKinley and New Directions-"

"I like her", Sunshine heard Giselle whisper theatrically to Andrea, who chuckled and nodded.

"Is that true?" Sunshine said maliciously, a pointed stare towards Jesse, as she grasped desperately to the remains of her dignity, cheeks heated up in shame and embarrassment. Rachel looked condescendingly at her.

"First – Jesse isn't a thing to be gained. He's a person with feelings that deserve respect. Second – I wasn't sure of where I stood with Jesse when Coach Goolsby came to my home".

"I was, am and will always be yours, babe", Jesse whispered, pressing a kiss to the back of Rachel's neck.

Clenching her fists, Sunshine managed a small mocking smirk to Rachel, whose fingers were running lazily up and down Jesse's left arm while she pressed a sweet kiss to his right bicep. "Oh, tell me you're not buying that crap" she told Rachel, leaning down towards her. "Only last week he was hitting on me. Turned the charm all the way on", the exchange student whispered conspiratorially, despair clutching at her insides and a small voice screaming at her to shut up, shut up, shut up!

But she ignored it, because she wanted Rachel to hurt, she wanted Rachel to suffer, she wanted Rachel to feel the same shame, fear and humiliation she had felt at that crack house, at knowing she wasn't welcomed and embraced at McKinley. (She didn't feel welcomed and embraced in Carmel either, but now she had nowhere to run, so she forced herself to stick it out).

Rachel was silent, steely eyes meeting hers, but the triumph surging in Sunshine's heart was quickly dashed by the booming, velvety laugh coming from behind her rival. Startled, she looked up to see Jesse still chuckling. "Oh, my God, you really are desperate, aren't you? To confuse politeness with flirting…"

"At least I didn't cheat on my boyfriend with the competition-"

"You know what? That's fucking it", Andrea said suddenly, standing up and coming to stand so close to Sunshine that the other girl had to take a step back. "You have to back the hell off. Seriously. This whole 'jealous-ex-something' act you're putting is pathetic. Grow the hell up and move the fuck on. Jesse and Berry aren't going to break up because a desperate little girl thinks getting a 'good morning' and a smile from a guy means they're dating. God, and you're not even that much of a talent. I mean, you can't even keep up with our dancing!" Andrea then turned to look at a smirking St. James. Rachel was giggling with her lips pressed against the curve of his neck. "Jesse, good call on convincing Goolsby to invite Rachel. She's the perfect successor for you".

"Aw, Andrea!" He replied, mockingly. "You're going soft on your old age?"

"Shut it, St. James", she replied playfully, as Rachel squealed, "Jess!"

Andrea smiled indulgently at the young couple, before she turned a stony gaze to a once-again-humiliated Sunshine. "Why couldn't you be in US last year? You'd make a perfect target for funkification – one much better than Berry, that is. Funkifying you wouldn't lead to massive and grueling rehearsals as punishment, courtesy of Jesse here and Ms. Corcoran, I'm sure".

A tiny gasp escaped Rachel's lips, who turned liquid eyes to her boyfriend, who blushed a soft shade of red before beginning to whisper quietly to Rachel. A teeny sob left Rachel a minute later as she wrapped her arms around Jesse's neck, Jesse's own eyes tearful and upset. "Don't cry", he whispered quietly, pressing sweet kisses to her hair.

Sunshine was a jumble of emotions. Anger at Rachel being in Carmel stealing her spotlight and the people she thought were her friends and the boy Sunshine had decided would be hers. Humiliation at listening what the senior members of Vocal Adrenaline really thought of her. Shame at her behavior towards the boyfriend of another woman. Embarrassment. Hurt. And, deep, deep down, a profound envy of Rachel Berry and everything she had and achieved.

As realization sunk in that the entire thing had been witnessed by the student body of Carmel – or at least most of it; and Sunshine was sure that those who hadn't watched it would do so by the videos that she saw being recorded by various cell phones – Sunshine blushed a bright red and ducked her head as she slowly walked away from the Vocal Adrenaline members table, from Jesse St. James and from Rachel Berry.

She wondered if it was too late to beg her mother for a transfer back to McKinley.