A/N: Thank you again for the amazing feedback, I love reading all of them and learning more about what you like and don't! So far, all positive so I'm happy about that! Also, a big thanks to those who've added this to your alerts and favorites. Feedback is encouraged, like I said they inspire me to get them up faster!

Chapter 4

Rachel held the basket of cookies closer to her chest as she rang the doorbell patiently waiting for someone to answer. Looking down at her watch that read a quarter after three meant that she was right on time. Ringing it just once more, the door clicked revealing Carole who looked exhausted.

"I am sorry to bother you." Rachel apologized "Kurt invited me over and I didn't want to just barge in."

"He's upstairs cleaning his closet out." Carole welcomed Rachel to the house shutting the door behind them. "No intrusion at all, any friend of Kurt is welcome. Plus you've been here plenty of time, just come on in when you need to."

"I made these for you all, they are my oatmeal raisin as well as my chocolate chip cookies. I had made way too many for my Temple the other night so I figured they'd go fast here."

"You're too kind, thank you Rachel." Carole smiled "I'll set these in the kitchen, go ahead and go find Kurt I'm sure he's lost in designer tags."

Rachel laughed jogging up the stairs knocking on Kurt's door. Hearing a small 'come in' she did so to find her best friend buried waist high in clothes.

"Holy Barbara." Rachel gasped looking around at the mess in his room. "You should be ashamed of yourself Kurt, look at how many clothes you have!"

"It's not the quantity but the quality." Kurt hushed her folding up some of his clothes "Plus I have decided to donate most of my clothes to the less fortunate. Like Finn for example, him and those damn puffy vests I want to cut the things up and make an art project from them. If he wasn't so tall, I'd give him my clothes."

Rachel sighed laying on his bed at the mention of the boy, Kurt looked back at her with questioning eyes.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing I'm just really tired, I've been practicing my butt off for my role of Maria." Rachel smiled remembering a week ago when the list was posted, feeling so accomplished over the fact that she had done the impossible. Almost no one who wasn't a senior received the lead role in a musical.

"I'm proud of you."

"Well we would be celebrating together if you would have tried out." Giving him playful eyes from her seat on the bed.

"You and I both know I wouldn't have gotten Tony, Ian will do much better." Kurt brushed off her comment throwing some more of his belongings into a bag. "Would you mind doing me a favor, diva?"

"You invited me over to do you favors?" Rachel gasped before giggling "What would you like me to do?"

"Take some of the trash bags for donation and put them in my car. We'll take them on our way to meet Mercedes for dinner." Kurt directed Rachel putting more and more things in piles leaving him with not much else to do in the closet.

Sighing heavily she got up from his bed dragging two bags out of his room, to the car just like he asked. Feeling winded after her second trip she leaned against his car trying to catch her breathe. Not even her morning exercise prepared her to this. These bags were heavier than she thought they would be. Jogging up the steps there were two more bags sitting on the floor. Kurt looked up with a sweet smile on his face as she groaned, he owed her big time for this. Yanking them behind her she kicked them down the steps without looking, just wanting to not carry them down.

"Whoa!"

Rushing down the steps Rachel attempted to help Finn off the ground.

"I am so sorry." Almost instantly noticing the cookie hanging out of his mouth along with some on around him spread all over the steps. Picking the cookies up, she was red with embarrassment. "I didn't think anyone else besides Carole was home and so I just threw them down the stairs."

Realizing her rambling, she went to pick up the bag. "I'm sorry"

"It was my fault, my mom made these like amazing cookies." Finn pointed to the now crushed cookies on the steps before looking at Rachel "I mean don't get me wrong they usually are good but these are delicious. I was in my own world, not your fault."

"I'm honored..." Carole's laughter could be heard from the couch, both looking over as a smirk played on her face, folding clothes. "Rachel made those cookies though, maybe we should just have come over to bake them since you like them so much."

"You made these?" Finn's eyes wide with amazement.

"Yes, with my father's gone the majority of the time so I picked up on a few hobbies such as singing and baking." Picking up the crumbs and placing them on his plate, Rachel remembered the task at hand and reached for the trash bag of clothes. "I'm glad you all are enjoying them, like I said I didn't want them to do to waste."

"You'll have to come over one day Rachel to teach me some tricks to baking."

"Of course Miss. Hudson I would be delighted to." Brushing some hair behind her ear as she stood at the front door. Finn bounded down the stairs snatching the trash bags out of her hand while opening the door. Keeping up behind him, Rachel opened the door to Kurt's car packing the last two in. "Thank you Finn, you're so chivalrous."

"Chivalrous?" Finn arched an eyebrow in confusion to such a large unfamiliar word. Rachel giggled stopping at the steps just before going in.

"Meaning that you're generous, a nice young man."

Finn's smiled brightly at the compliment, he's never been called chivalrous before and he likes it. Watching her go up the stairs his mom clears her throat snapping him to her instead. Giving him a smile she shook her head with the basket of clothes on her hip.

"Clean the cookies of the steps please." Running a hand through her sons head she headed up into the second story to put the clothes in their designated rooms. He could hear her laughing with his mom from upstairs wanting to go up there he knew that if he didn't get those cookies cleaned up he'd be in a heap of trouble. He'd just find out another time.

CA CA

"Never have I felt so great in my life." Rachel was practically glowing as she ate her lunch with friends "I mean look at it, I have only had two shows in which Jacob has given me an outstanding review for both. Granted he asked me for a pair of my underwear in return which I declined, he still wrote an amazing article."

"I read it." Mercedes nodded nibbling on some of her tater tots. "Plus I saw the musical, you did good Berry. Much better than I thought it would be. I'm more of a Dream Girls than a West Side Story."

"Well I thank you for coming to see it, it means the world to me to know my friends are there to support me."

"Awe look at this sob fest." Searching over their shoulders for the voice in which they just heard they spotted Santana Lopez. None of them could stand her or the rest of the Cheerios, each had an attitude that Rachel didn't respect at all. There was a difference between acting confident and acting like them.

"May we help you?" Turning in her seat to look at Santana, Brittany and Quinn directly in the face Rachel didn't want to show any fear. In fact she wanted to prove to them that she wasn't going to to take any crap from them at all. "I would like to enjoy my lunch in peace, not to be bothered by you three."

"Look who grew a pair of balls over the summer."

"I detest your vulgar statement." Rachel stood to match their height "I do not have balls, just know that I will not stand to put up with your disgusting remarks."

"You've got some nerve Berry." Quinn stepped forward knocking into her shoulder

"No you have nerve coming over, interrupting my lunch with your ignorant friends. What right do you have to say these things..." Rachel gasped in horror, embarrassment and the feeling of painful chills from the cold slush running down her body. The cafeteria grew silent, Rachel's scream echoing off the walls.

Quinn leaped back laughing at the fact that Rachel looked like a rainbow had just been poured over her.

"You know what that's for." Quinn leaned forward whispering in her ear. "Finn's a little out of your element don't you think?"

Getting over the initial shock, Rachel wiped the colorful dripping syrup from her eyes look at the now laughing cafeteria. Completely humiliated, Rachel sprinted from them nearly slipping on the ice falling from her. The laughter ringing in her ears chasing her down the hallway.

The syrup was burning her eyes making it difficult to see anything in front of her. Crying,was out of the question because that only made them sting worse.

Feeling more pathetic than her usual self, she couldn't even look to find the bathroom. Just about ready to give up and curl up in a corner in the hallway, Rachel felt herself being guided to a door. Assuming it was a bathroom (since it's pretty much obvious that's where she needed to go) Rachel was helped into a chair. Opening a swollen, red eye she heard the water running but could barely make out anything other than a silhouette of a tall figure. Figuring it was Kurt saving her from her misery, Rachel leaned back waiting for his help.

"Kurt" Rachel sniffed as a cold rag reached her eyes making them a little less itchy at the touch. "I have never been so embarrassed in my life, Kurt. When are they going to give up on us? I went to New York, changed my style, I even stopped talking as much and they still hate me! I don't understand what I have to do to make this stop. I've pulled out all my card, I'm trying why can't they see that I'm not that girl from last year?"

Swallowing back a sob, Rachel grabbed Kurt's hand that was wiping her eyes off. "I just want to be able to enjoy my lunch without someone tearing me down. I want to walk through the halls without running from those stupid jerks, looking for losers like me. You saw how they were this morning Kurt!"

Not hearing anything coming from her best friend wasn't very Kurt like. His usual self would have stopped this conversation way before now. Opening her eyes feeling the difference from Kurt's smooth cared hands, to the ones she was holding on to. She was even more humiliated when she saw Finn smiling sympathetically down at her.

"You are not Kurt." Jumping up she was mortified because she not only looked disgusting but she just cried, practically just giving him this story he probably thinks she's pathetic.

"I'm sorry, you just started rambling that I didn't get a chance to tell you that I wasn't Kurt."

"Rambling?" That stung, gaining what ever posture she could Rachel grabbed the door handle. "I promise not to ramble anymore or bug you. Thanks for bringing me in here and helping me. Bye Finn. "

Tugging the door open Finn watched her run out. Walking out slowly Finn watched as Rachel ran down the hallway, rounding the corner out of sight.

Pushing through everyone leaving lunch Rachel just wanted to get out of the school, she couldn't wait until her day would come when everyone would remember her for not being the loser in high school but the true star she is. She would just be the pathetic loser to these people until then, Rachel knew she'd had to accept that.

CA CA

"I do not want to talk about it Kurt." Rachel hissed over the phone combing her knotty mess she had from the show she just took, getting the dried syrup out of her hair. "In fact I might not come back to school ever."

"Stop being such a drama queen, you and I both know you wouldn't risk your perfect attendance on those losers."

"You don't get it Kurt!" Slamming the comb onto the vanity, she couldn't look at herself because she was so ashamed at everything that happened today. "They aren't the loser, I am!"

"Hush right now, you and I both know that when we move to New York to make a name of ourselves we will have to town of Lima at our doorsteps begging at our feet. Half of those girls at school only dream of having a voice like yours."

"Kurt..." Rachel whispered, wiping her eyes of a signs of tears.

"You listen to me Rachel Berry, don't let them get to you. You stick up the nose of yours and show them that you're worth it."

"I don't know how much more I can take of them Kurt."

"They graduate this year Rachel, this will be our last year dealing with their shenanigans and than we'll be top dogs around here." Rachel laughed grabbing a tissue to wipe all signs of crying away.

"You're right, just this one last year."

"They'll be out of our hair next year, we can do this. Now get out of this funk and come over, Tina is bringing her new manicure set."

Just about to agree to a wonderful night of forgetting everything with her friends, Rachel remembered what happened with Finn earlier and sighed. "I can't, not tonight. I have a lot of homework to do. Plus tonight is video night, you know how my five viewers don't like to be kept waiting."

"No we don't." Kurt laughed "Cheer up Rachel, take a nice relaxing bath. Hey! Use those oils I gave you for your birthday and put in there, even try some sea salt. You don't need to be all tense for your musical."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll see you tomorrow okay Kurt." Saying good-bye he hung up, leaving Rachel staring at the comb in her hands. Brushing out the remaining knots, she couldn't help but feel guilty for not going over Kurt's. She really wanted to but with the awkward and shameful run out today, Rachel didn't want to happen to run into Finn tonight. She knew it was foolish to react the way she did but it was too late. Plus it didn't really that much anyway, she'd just have to forget about it. Rachel just hoped he'd forget everything she had told him earlier. There was only way to find out and she knew that just because she didn't see him tonight that he wouldn't forget easily.

Pulling out strands of her hair on the last knot she threw the comb on the vanity and decided that a nice relaxing bath sounded perfect just about now.