Author's Note: Here is another chapter! I really hope you guys are enjoying this series. Rachel's such a fun character to toy around with, so it's awesome I get to develop her in a new way with new and old characters.
Rachel gave Peter one last smile before turning and opening the door, walking right in with her head held high. This was going perfect already. Talk to Mr. Shuester, get Peter to aid her with her schedule, and she would audition for said Glee club and become the star she was so destined to be.
The classroom was fairly large, given that the school itself was quite big and possibly had the best budget to have things like this. The walls were painted yellow, all with cute pictures on the wall that held different sort of classes, though they all seemed to take place in a completely different classroom. In fact, the lot of them were all standing in front of a gorgeous black piano. They must be the New Directions.
"Excuse me, Miss...?" a voice made her flinch, looking away from the framed photos. There was a younger man sitting at his desk, his hair very curly and short while he wore a plaid vest over a button-up shirt. He almost looked like an older Justin Timberlake. Rachel smiled and cleared her throat and went to speak, but he cut her off, "My first Spanish class doesn't start until third period, so I don't think-"
"Oh, no, actually, uh...I'm Rachel Stark. Well, Rachel Berry-Stark, but I normally go by-"
"Wait..." the man started, closing his eyes for a moment before he looked up at her. "Stark? Like Tony Stark?"
"Yeah, he's my dad," Rachel smiled, before continuing, "actually, I came here to ask you about the, uh...Glee club. I wanted to ask if I would be able to audition."
"He's your," the man smiled, before getting up and holding his hand out for her to shake. "Mr. Shuester, and...I'd be glad if you auditioned for New Directions. We'd be happy to have you."
"That's incredible!" Rachel exclaimed, hopping up and down. "When can I audition? Who else is on the team? Are we required to play an instrument because I happen to specialize perfectly in piano."
"All very good questions, Uh...I'm free during B lunch. Come find me and be sure to be prepared with your song." Mr. Shuester instructed, still smiling. "Also...if you could tell your father...I'm just...I'm a huge fan of his work, and-and Iron Man. In fact, I have an Iron Man coffee cup back at my apartment. My wife, Terry, makes fun of me constantly for it, but...it's just...it's great to have you as an addition to the school."
Rachel smiled awkwardly, though she was obviously put out at all of the gushing towards her father. While Rachel was also proud of his accomplishments, she also knew she would preferred to be known as herself, not just Tony Stark's only daughter. But soon she would be. Once Mr. Shuester heard her voice, Rachel knew for a fact she was going to be widely adored and appreciated. Her voice was the key. Her father and Pepper would be so proud of her.
Bidding Mr. Shuester goodbye, Rachel got to the door and let herself out, jumping in surprise since Peter was still there, awkwardly fiddling with his hands as he gave Rachel a nervous smile. Well, at least this meant she wouldn't have to wander the school like an idiot looking for the front office to retrieve her schedule.
"So you get to audition at B lunch?" Peter suddenly asked, breaking the silence as he led Rachel away from the Spanish classroom.
"You were listening?"
"I, uh...couldn't help it." Peter grinned sheepishly. "So...what are you going to sing?"
"On My Own from Le Mis." Rachel said mechanically, taking the other boy by surprise. "Sorry, it's just...I've been practicing that song ever since Pepper, I mean...my step-mom, I guess, told me I was registered It's my best bet."
"Never heard of it," Peter admitted as they walked down the stairs toward the bottom floor where the office would be held. "So, listen...since I don't know if you have any friends, right-right now. I was thinking you could hang around me and mine. It's just a few of us, so we won't overwhelm you. Actually, two of them are in New Directions, too. She's MJ. Oddly good at dancing and a great singer. But nobody else knows because she's not a fan of slushies, so if you could just...keep that to yourself. And Kurt and Artie can sing." He said all of this in one breath. Rachel wished he would stop being so unsure of himself with her. She liked him as much as she could already. He was sweet and not a total outcast from what she's observed. Perhaps, again, it was because of her father.
"Uh, yeah...who else is there beside them?"
"Ned. Ned's been my friend the longest. He's totally cool. A little weird, but that's just how he comes off. Kurt's fun. Sometimes. He likes to dabble with fashion all the time so he's always looking great. Artie's big in the directing. He's part of the theater club and can sing pretty cool, too. Mind you, he is in a wheelchair. I know that doesn't matter, but most people stare if I don't mention that first, so..."
"They sound great. And MJ?"
"Scary." Peter stated, before looking up. "We're here. Just go inside and talk to the assistant principal. He's Figgins. He's also a little weird, but..."
"It's alright. I'll be right out." Rachel grinned before stepping inside and looking around. Much like the rest of the school, everything seemed so modern and well kept. The desks were spotless and she was sure every computer were worth a lot of money. She was surprised at the budget this entire school managed to have. Looking around, she spotted a plaque that read, 'Assistant Principal Figgins'. Sitting behind it was an older man of Indian descent. He was wearing a burgundy suit as he smiled sweetly at her and waved her over.
"I recognize you," he stated as he began fishing around the papers on his desk. He had an accent. "Miss Rachel Berry-Stark, only child to Tony Stark, and homeschooled her entire life. Here is your schedule." He finally pulled a purple paper from the pile and handed it to her. Looking it over, she glanced back up at him. "Enjoy the school as much as you can. Just...I am obligated to warn you to be careful of Coach Sylvester. You'll know exactly who she is when you meet her. She's a tad terrifying. Have a good day!"
Rachel blinked several times. That was definitely weird... But she had her schedule, so she could finally go about her day and mentally prepare herself for B lunch when she would sing her heart out for Mr. Shuester to enjoy and promote her to be the star of New Directions like she was destined to be. Plus, apparently three out of the four of Peter's friends were in the group, so she could also scout out the competition while making new friends. She was sure one could do both without tarnishing the friendship part.
Once more, Peter was waiting outside, this time accompanied with someone else. It was another male, his skin tone rather pale with his hair slathered in hairspray to keep it neat and pushed off to the side. If Rachel didn't know any better, she'd think he was wearing what looked to be Burberry closed, and from what she understood, they were very high maintenance. He looked Rachel up and down in disdain, particularly paying attention to her outfit.
"Allow me to present my confusion on the sheer fact that Tony Stark's daughter not only has the money to buy just about every designer company in New York, but she chooses to wear clothes that make her appear as both a toddler and a grandmother? Peter, please tell me I'm just looking at a poor, delusional freshman who hasn't the faintest idea on how much she needs a fairy godmother?" the male even went as far as to shield his eyes.
"Uh, Kurt...this is Rachel. Rachel, this is Kurt, the boy I was telling you about," Peter said, looking between the two.
"Great...pleasure to meet the daughter who was born with at least four gold spoons in her mouth," Kurt smiled, holding out a hand. "Although, maybe you're not as entitled as I imagined you to be. Worry not, I'm a lot better once you get to know me and I change your wardrobe completely."
"Uh, u-um," Rachel sputtered, unsure of how she was to reply to him. His personality was so...flamboyant. It was as if he was the type you wanted to impress just to do it. If that were the case, why wasn't he surrounded by a bigger group of kids that wanted said attention? Instead, she held out her hand to Peter instead, showing him her schedule. The smaller boy took it and looked it over.
"Well, it looks like we have first, third, seventh, and eighth period together," he stated, before handing it to Kurt who smoothed it out and squinted very judgmentally at the paper.
"We have fourth, fifth, and sixth. How ironic," Kurt shrugged. "Congratulations, this means this year I can aid you in your deformities."
"My what?"
"C-C'mon! Ned'll be wanting to meet you. He has first period with us, too," Peter squeaked, taking her arm and beginning to pull her back to the stairs. "See you at lunch, Kurt!" With that, the two were trotting up the stairs, making her slightly jostled as her messenger bag slightly slipped from her shoulder and into the crook of her arm. She was thankful once they got into the landing and he stopped pulling her, instead, leading her toward their classroom. "Sorry about him. He's a bit socially oblivious sometimes."
"It's okay," Rachel mumbled as she shifted her messenger bag back onto her shoulder. "I just wish I could've asked him more about New Directions since he's in it. I could not tell from his pitch and tone whether or not his singing ability were up to par with my voice." Rachel pulled out a small notepad from her bag and a pen and scrawled Kurt's name on it before shoving it back in just as they got to class. From what Rachel could see, the room was absolutely packed.
"C'mon, me and Ned prefer the back of the classroom. Makes enough room for the Cheerios and jocks to sit up front," Peter mumbled. Inside, indeed, were what appeared to be every cast member out of movies like Remember the Titans or the Blind Side. She could tell who the 'Cheerios' were. About three girls were sitting close toward the front, adorned in their uniforms that were colored blue and gold, the school colors. All three turned to look at Rachel and Peter respectively, sneering.
One of them caught Rachel's eye, however. The one at the center was a blonde female with vibrant green eyes. She wasn't wearing any makeup, though she was the type of girl that didn't need any. She was simply just beautiful all on her own. The two girls on either side of her weren't up to measuring, appearance-wise. One was tanned with raven colored hair, her eyes almost as dark and cold. The other was another blond, but her face was narrower and her eyes blue instead.
"Who are they?" Rachel whispered as she and Peter passed.
"The three top cheerleaders on Coach Sylvester's squad. Santana Lopez, Brittany Pierce, and Quinn Fabray, the captain. All of them are...well...mean. But they're big with the football players, so nobody could complain." Peter hurriedly whispered back as they found two seats beside each other that were empty. A boy from across them leaned over suddenly. He was Asian and a tad overweight, but that didn't take away from his appearance. Rachel even snorted to see he was wearing an Incredible Hulk shirt; she'd definitely tell Bruce of that.
"Is that her?" Ned asked excitedly.
Rachel looked at Peter.
"I kind of...texted the guys and MJ that I was introducing you," Peter explained, giving the male a glare.
"Oh, relax, she probably gets this attention all the time. Hey, Rach, I'm Ned, Peter's best friend and all-time rock." Ned smiled. "Have you met the other three?"
"Kurt," Peter said.
"Shit, maybe you should've met Artie first...Kurt and MJ aren't exactly...people-friendly," Ned laughed. "Well, trust me, you're gonna have a blast here. Peter and I are very well involved with the school. Plus not too shabby with the ladies. I've got my eyes on that beauty over there..." Ned suddenly leaned forward, his gaze shifting to the girl named Santana Lopez. She seemed to be talking to Brittany intimately. Ned sighed lovingly. To him, she looked like a goddess.
Rachel gave a fake smile, feeling a tad better with this interaction compared to Kurt's, but maybe she was blowing things out of proportion. After all, she didn't even know how teenagers were meant to act. Staring toward the front, her eyes landing on the Quinn Fabray, she bit her lip. She would definitely like to learn soon if she could just chance a greeting with her.