So I must say this is by far the longest chapter I've ever…. EVER written for any story. I really hope you like. There's not much of Quinn in this chapter. But nonetheless you will enjoy it. I promise. If you have any comments or thing's you'd like to share please feel free. Another note I probably won't be posting the next chapter for a while because school starts next week and I must readjust my schedule. But I can promise you that the next chapter is all about Rachel and Quinn. Thanks for reading and enjoy.
Rachel
Wednesday: 8:35am
My breath was shaky, hands clammy. All my nerves were on end as I self consciously tugged at my new purple stylish low top shirt. A light breeze wafted through my long legs, revealing my short black miniskirt. It was approximately 3 and half inches above my knee. The new boots I was also wearing began digging into the side of my calves. Whoever said beauty was pain, really had no idea. I stood outside the front doors of the school.
Just be confident. Remember to smile. Be sexy.
I sucked in a deep breath. "Here goes nothing." I blew out. With a strong grip on the doors, I pulled them open and slowly entered into the halls of McKinley High. It was only 15 minutes till all classes started and everyone was in the hallways chatting with friends or grabbing their books from lockers. An arm looped through mine as I continued to march down the hall, with Brittany by my side. All eyes were on us. We caught the attention of everyone.
Brittany quietly whispered in my ear, "You're doing great. Remember confidence. And say what you've got to say."
People began whispering as we walked by.
"Who's that?"
"Is that the loser from glee club?"
"What's Brittany doing with her?"
"Dude she's totally hot!"
"I really like her boots."
"Is she wearing makeup?"
Brittany and I passed by a wide eyed Santana Lopez while Quinn Fabray rose a speculative brow. A smug grin crossed my face at the blonde's reaction. Just to add more dramatic emphasis I gave her a small wink. Who's pathetic now Fabray? I shifted my eyes away from her as Brittany and I strolled to my locker with huge smiles across our faces.
"The hard part is over. Remember what I taught you and you should be good." Brittany nodded.
"And all this will help me get Finn back?" I asked with a copious amount to hope.
Brittany didn't respond as Santana made her way over to us. Her forehead was crinkled into a frustrated glare. "What the hell is going on here? And what the hell are you doing with knubbs?" Santana ordered.
Fear slithered into me at Santana's fearsome presence. She eyed me like a hawk, inspecting me from head to toe. Brittany however gave her a cheerful smile.
"Doesn't Rachel look hot?" Brittany asked Santana.
The Latina threw a foul glance in her girlfriend's direction. The blonde however simply raised a brow expectantly, waiting for a response. I could feel a smirk cross my face. Santana is totally whipped. Once again Santana looked me up and down before shrugging her muscular shoulders.
"She looks…. Normal. And by normal, I mean you look like an actual girl Berry." Santana added in.
At that moment the tall and athletic captain of the soccer team let out a loud whistle. "Looking good singer chick." He winked before walking passed us. I could feel my face heat up at his comment. Did he just compliment me?
"Aww, look. She's blushing. I guess it must come as a big shock that there are other guys other than Finn Hudson." Santana mocked.
"Be nice." Brittany warned.
"Fine. We'll hope you two had fun but now I'm commandeering MY girlfriend back. Unless you had any objections, Man hands or maybe you wanted to take her for another spin?" Santana sarcastically remarked.
"I no longer require her services anymore." I replied simply.
"It wasn't an offer to begin with." Santana growled.
After that the Latina stalked off down the hall. Brittany gave me an apologetic smile. "She's just jealous. Cute huh?" Brittany smiled.
"Sure." I nodded.
"Trust me Rachel, you look hot. Your hair, makeup, and clothes look phenomenal." Brittany reassured me.
"Thanks Britt." I smiled. "For everything."
:Flashback: 6 days ago…..
My eyes were glued to the pages in front of me, gathering ideas for my new mission. I grabbed my pen and quickly scribbled out a few plans to my notebook. Between the large book and notebook my list was slowly compiling into 4 pages of notes. A weary sigh drew from my lips as I gazed around the school's desolate library. Hardly anyone came in here around lunch time. For me, it was a perfect time to focus and concentrate on the task at hand.
"Hey Rachel." A voice greeted me from beside.
I glanced up from my notes. Brittany stood before me with a big smile on her face.
"Hey Brittany. What are you doing in here?" I asked.
"I like to come in here sometimes. It smells like an old person which kind of reminds me of my granny Slater. She really liked cheese and Lord Tubbington." Brittany nodded as if she made perfect sense.
"Okay." I smiled gently.
"What are you reading?" Brittany asked as she took a seat next to me.
A very small grimace appeared on my face. Why would she want to know? I'm pretty sure she isn't interested in what I'm doing. What is she really doing here? She's obviously not here for the books.
I lifted up the cover of the large book. "The Art of War"
Brittany's eyes curiously eyed the book with a thoughtful look. She pinched her lips in a silly manner then glanced back at me with a suspicious gaze. "What are you reading that for?" she asked with a knowing tone. My brows rose with interest at her question. By the way she was looking at me I think she already knew the answer.
"I'm just formulating some ideas." I replied.
"You're trying to get Finn back aren't you?" Brittany blurted out soundly.
I looked away from her and back down at my book. My cheeks burned with a slight embarrassment. How could she have figured that out? After a few minutes the blonde let out a soft chuckle. My eyes hastily shifted back to her. Why is she laughing? Is she laughing at me?
"I'm not laughing at you. I was just thinking of what it would be like if Lord Tubbington could fly." She smiled.
"Listen Brittany I've really got to get back-
"I want to help you." Brittany firmly stated.
"What?" the words fell out of my mouth.
The blonde nodded as she stood up. "I want to help find you."
"What do you mean find me? I'm already here." I stated.
Brittany smiled and shook her head. "No you're not. But I can help. And I know exactly how to do that. So come on!" She held her hand out.
I eyed her hand and threw a confused look at the towering blonde. Is this some sort of joke? Is she trying to play me or something? OMG… I bet she's pretending to be nice to me on the account of Quinn's orders. Yeah that's it. After what I said to Quinn it was only a matter of time before she sent her lackies to collect me. Well at least it was Brittany of all people.
"I'm not going to hurt you. I'm only going to help." She sighed.
"Why would you want to help me?" I asked incredulously.
"Because I want to help you find your destiny." The blonde replied.
Destiny? What has gotten into this girl? Is she on drugs or something? Should I really trust her? I mean….. Its Brittany after all.
With a weary sigh I slowly reached for her hand. "Fine. I guess I could use a little help getting Finn back." I nodded with approval.
:End of Flashback: To Present
"Rachel?" a voice called from behind.
My body froze. I knew that voice like the back of my hand. Shivers crept thought my spine as I sucked in a long and shaky breath. A big smile swept across my face as I spun around. His large brown eyes widened with shock and surprise. Finn's jaw practically dropped to the floor. His eyes traveled the length of my body, taking everything in.
"W-W-W" he stuttered out.
The boy was completely speechless. He pinched his lips together and crossed his arms across his chest. "What are you wearing?" he finally got out.
"Clothes, what else?" I replied sarcastically.
At my comment his brows rose up. I wasn't necessarily one for sarcasm and he picked up on it right away.
"Okay." He spoke slowly, still processing what the hell was going on. "But why are you wearing those types of clothes?"
"Because I want to. It makes me feel sexy and empowering." I stated.
"Yeah, but you don't have to wear that kind of stuff to prove that. You're already beautiful and talented just the way you are. You shouldn't be showing off your entire body like this. I mean your shirt is way too low and your skirt… " He huffed out.
"Finn, just stop. You can't tell me what to do anymore. We are not together. You gave that right up when you decided to change the plan. And you know what…. I'm tired Finn. I'm tired of always hiding in the shadows. I'm tired of being laughed at and being picked on. I'm tired of people not seeing me as who I was meant to be. And I'm tired of people not appreciating me. I'm done. I am just done with it all Finn. I deserve better, and I'm not going to take it anymore."
"I don't understand?" he asked solemnly. "Where is all this coming from? You've never had a problem with any of it before."
"I did Finn. I just didn't voice out and whine about my problems. It's our last year here and I want to make the most of it. I have other needs and wants, other than to fulfill my destiny of being a star." I replied with a strong voice.
"Okay like what?" he asked with confusion.
"For starters, I should've said this last week but I was too scared of losing you." I sighed. Sucking in a deep breath I looked up at my ex boyfriend. "I don't want to be your friend. That would insinuate a relationship to where I couldn't touch you or kiss you."
Finn's eyes closed as he shook his head. He knew what was coming. But I didn't care. I needed him to know. And I was going to say everything I had to say.
"I want you back Finn."
Silence took over as he backed away from me. He began shaking his head. His throat bobbed up and down. I could see his chest rapidly rising and falling with an untimely beat. "All of this, is just to get me back?" he asked with an uneven tone.
"Yes." I responded.
"Rachel…." He began.
"No." I quickly cut him off with my strong words. "I'm going to fight to win you back. Because you are a part of my destiny. And I'm going to prove that to you." With a big smile I leaned forward and gently brushed my lips to his cheek. Without another word I took my leave and without as much as a second glance.
4:00pm
"You said that to him?" Kurt and Mercedes both asked with wide eyes. The three of us were seated into a mini circle in the choir room, waiting for the Glee meeting to take place.
I nodded with a bright smile.
"What has gotten into you girl?" Kurt asked, pressing the back of his hand into my forehead.
"Rachel, you look beautiful and I think that what you're doing is great. But I think your motivation for doing all of this is a little flawed." Mercedes replied.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"I know how much Finn means to you. And I know you want to get back together with him but maybe he shouldn't be your only focus." Mercedes advised.
"She's right." Kurt jumped in. "Instead of doing this whole transformation thing for him you should really be doing this for yourself. If worse comes to worse and things don't work out with Finn at least you'll still have this."
"Things will work out with Finn." I retorted.
"Rachel, take a good look at yourself. You are 18 years old, gorgeous, talented, and single. We've just been accepted into the number one music program in NEW YORK. Now out of all the hard work that you've put into these past four years of hell, tell me, what's the craziest thing you've ever done in your high school career? And you can't mention anything that you've done with the glee club." Kurt stated.
I tried to rack my brain for an answer. Memories and memories flooded through me but not one of them stood out.
"See, you still have so much living to do. I mean the only person you've ever dated was Finn for practically 2 years." Kurt sighed.
"It's actually 2 years, 7 months, and 4 days." I corrected.
Both Kurt and Mercedes rolled their eyes. At that moment a loud shuffle began to invade the room. People were beginning to file in.
"Just think about what we've said." Kurt nodded. With that the three of us stood and walked to our seats. Just then Puck came in and sat in the seat next to me. He lazily threw an arm over my shoulder. I quietly shrugged it off as he eyed me with a half smile.
"Damn Berry you look smokin hot." Puck commented as he wiggled his brow. A low laugh escaped my throat.
"Thank you for the inappropriate compliment Noah." I smiled.
Then the three cheerio's entered into the room. Brittany skipped her way over to me with a huge smile, Santana trailing behind her.
"So Berry, what do you say… you and I go out sometime?" Puck asked with a wide grin.
"Please, Knubbs doesn't have time for the likes of you." Santana remarked.
"Hey Rachel!" Brittany waved.
"Hey Brittany." I smiled delightfully.
I watched from the corner of my eye as Quinn gazed at us with a suspicious look. After a few seconds she took a seat high in the risers. Then Finn and Mr. Schue appeared in the room in deep conversation. Immediately I stood from my chair and made my way over to them.
"Mr. Schue! I have a little something that I've been working on and I was wondering if I may?" I asked with a direct tone of voice.
Finn threw an unreadable gaze my way before making his way to a seat. Mr. Schue began rifling through his suitcase and quickly glanced at me before doing a double take. His eyes widened as he straightened back up. "Uhh….. yeah sure go for it."
I took my place at the center of the room as all eyes were upon me as usual. With one look at the band and Brad, the piano guy, the music started. An uplifting beat surrounded me as I smiled widely. My body began moving to rhythm of the music as I lifted my arms into the air. A wave of confidence radiated off of me. I licked my lips as I began to sing.
'Oh well, uh you might think I'm crazy
To hang around with you
Or maybe you think I'm lucky
To have something to do
But I think that you're wild
Inside me is some child
You might think I'm foolish
Or maybe it's untrue
You might think I'm crazy
But all I want is you
You might think it's hysterical
But I know when your weak
You think you're in the movies
And everything's so deep
But I think that you're wild
When you flash that fragile smile
You might think it's foolish
What ya put me through
You might think I'm crazy
All I want is you
And it was so hard to take
There's no escape without a scrape
But you kept it going till the sun fell down
You kept it….. going
Oh well uh you might think I'm delirious
The way I run you down
But somewhere sometimes
When you're curious
I'll be back around
Oh I think that you're wild
And so-o uniquely styled
You might think it's foolish
This chancy rendezvous
You might think I'm crazy
All I want is you
All I want is you
At the end I pointed a finger directly at the man I wanted. His eyes widened and quickly looked down. Everybody clapped as I took a small bow.
Thursday: 11:25am
"Rachel, why can't you just understand the fact that it's over between us?" Finn asked with a frustrated tone.
"Because I refuse to accept it." I replied.
"You're not making this any easier. I'm- I'm trying to move on Rachel, and I can't do that when you're practically everywhere I turn. It's driving me crazy!" Finn huffed out.
"You don't think I'm going crazy? I'm the one who's trying to fight for you. For us, so we can be together again."
"And who asked you to do that?" He growled.
His words pierced into me like a poisoned dart. I closed his eyes as a painful force sliced into my chest. In the back of my mind I knew that he was trying to let go of me. But I didn't want that….. because then that would mean I'd have to let him go. And the sad part was that, I didn't know how to let him go, even if I wanted to.
"I don't want you Rachel. Stop trying to fight for something that isn't there anymore." He whispered in a low and heartbreaking tone.
"Why can't you just love me?" I asked with teary eyes.
He shook his head and walked away without another word. Moist tears fell down my face as I watched him leave. Just shrug it off Berry. Today was a bad day, that's all. There's still tomorrow which is my major plan of attack.
Friday: 3:12 pm
Principal Figgins was addressing the school's pep rally in the gym. He stood in the center of the floor, reading off of a card about attending tonight's football game. The entire student body was present; they were waiting for the football players to make a speech and for the cheerleaders show. I hid behind the bleachers waiting for my opportunity to strike. Behind Figgins the small jazz band was already set up. I looked down at my small little black dress I was wearing then at my black heels. Okay I look good. Digging into my purse I found a small mirror and opened it. I checked to see if my makeup and hair was in good condition. And it was. I chanced a peek from the corner of the bleachers. There in the front row were the cheerleaders and the football players. Automatically I scanned for Finn. A small smile filled my face when I saw him. He had this dopey look on his. Next to him was none other than Quinn Fabray. I rolled my eyes.
"It's go time Rachel." I nodded to myself.
I quietly shook my hands and straightened myself up. With a shaky breath, I slowly walked from behind the bleacher and onto the floor. Loud whistles and voices whispered across the gym at my presence. I made my way straight for Figgins. Once I got to him I slowly leaned into his ear.
"Mr. Figgins I saw someone in the faculty parking lot. They were slashing tires and I think they got your car." I whispered into his ear. It was a total lie. But what can I say? I needed to get Finn back. The consequences were of little thought to me. At that Figgins quickly dismissed himself and quickly shuffled out of the gym. I approached the microphone with an air of confidence.
"Show us your tits!" someone shouted.
I rolled my eyes and glanced in the direction of the voice. "That's disgusting and completely inappropriate you pig." I retorted. "Any ways the reason why I've commandeered your little pep rally was so I'd save you guys the trouble of having to listen to that bullshit for another 20 minutes." I stated.
There were a couple of gasps that erupted around the gym. More whispers broke out as all eyes watched me with curiosity and interest.
"You go girl!" someone else shouted.
"The song I'm about to perform is for Finn Hudson." I stated with a wide smile.
There was a couple of ooo's and aww's. Students were looking in Finn's direction. His face was red as he lowered his head down to the ground. Some of the cheerio's looked confused as they couldn't decide whether or not to enthrall in my presence.
"Hit it boys!" I called out.
Suddenly the drums came to life like a roaring storm. Next came the classic guitar solo at the beginning of the song. Immediately hands started clapping to the well known song. I laughed as someone began altering the light schemes, changing the colors all around me. I grabbed the microphone from its stand and held it a few inches away from my lips. Instinctively my hips began moving freely with the beat of the music.
'I want you to want me….
I need you to need me
I'd love you to love me
I'm begging you to beg me
I want you to want me
I need you to need me
I'd love you to love me
I'll shine up my old brown shoes
Put on a brand new shirt
I'll get home early from work
If you say that you love me
Didn't I didn't I didn't I see you cryin
Oh, didn't I didn't I didn't I see you cryin
Feelin all alone without a friend, you know you feel like dyin
Oh, didn't I didn't I didn't I see you cryin
My eyes stared directly at Finn as I continued to sing. Everyone clapped along to the song. All eyes were on me as I directed the attention of the entire student body. Brittany jumped up from her seat on the bleachers and danced her way over to me. I smiled at the taller blonde who danced around me. A few seconds later Kurt, Blaine and Mercedes joined me. To my right the guitar guy took off with his solo as he slid across the gym floor. I laughed with joy and surprise as his back bent backwards and hit the gym floor. The students continued cheering at the show.
Again I began singing at the roar of the crowd. I slowly began to make my way towards the bleachers and towards Finn. I brushed my fingers through his hair and then across his cheek as I sung 'I want you to want me.' Then I briskly walked away from him and started to climb the bleachers. I raised my hands in the air as I made my way to the top of the bleachers. My hips and body moved to the beat of the song. The entire gym was singing with me. There wasn't a person in the room who wasn't on their feet to get a look at me. Well except for a few people, Finn and Quinn. The power in the gym was unlike any I'd ever felt before.
I slowly started descending down the bleachers and made my way back to the floor with my friends. The drums were slowly changing the tempo of the beat. I knew it was almost time for the grand finale. Well I've put this much into it, might as well finish with a bang. I ended the song as I spat out a high B and held it for a good 15 seconds. The entire gym clapped and shouted with cheer. A big warm sensation swelled in my chest at the sight. Arms circled around me. Kurt, Mercedes, Blaine, and Brittany hugged me tightly.
Just then Sue Sylvester approached us with a smirk.
"Alright Kelly Clarkson, let's go. Principals office." Sue nodded.
A huge smile spread across my face as I agreed. "You got some chaps on ya kid." Sue added in as she walked me to the principal's office.
Liked it? Hated it? please let me know what you thought? The songs used were 'You might think' by the Cars and 'I want you to want me' by Cheap Trick.
