Chapter 7: Young

As soon as I got in the door I went up to my room and into my bathroom. I needed a warm shower and dry clothes. I hadn't gotten anywhere in my thought process on how to get through to Santana. It all seemed to hopeless. As I removed all of my sopping wet clothes I caught sight of myself in my mirror. I removed the rest of the clothes and took a good hard long look at what I was doing to myself. My hair was a sopping wet mess hanging down around my shoulders. My skin had a slight bluish hue and was goose bumped from the cold. My eyes were red rimmed from crying and my nose was read and running. In short, I looked like a mess.

I was 17 years old, I had just started my senior year of high school and I was chasing after some girl who hated me. I had wasted so much of my high school career chasing after Lima Losers, Finn, Jesse, Puck, and now Santana. She wasn't worth my time. I was going to be a star on Broadway; I would have men and women throwing themselves at me.

Sure, I was just starting to realize my bisexuality, but that didn't mean I had to chase after girls who didn't like me. I was also discovering some rather enticing though altogether shocking fantasies. That didn't mean I needed someone to try them out on. I am young, I am just starting out. I don't need anyone else to validate myself. I am Rachel Barbra Berry. I do not chase after girls. I do not play games. I am more mature than that.

I gave myself one last stern look in the mirror before hopping in the shower to warm up. After the shower I put my hair up, donned my warmest sweats and went downstairs to find my dads so I could get a ride back to school to get my car.

I told my dads I simply walked home in a fit of rage after the duet didn't go well because Santana couldn't be bothered to practice and they seemed to understand that the diva inside of me was sometimes a little too emotional. Daddy Leroy drove me back to school to get my car and gave me a small lecture about walking in the cold rain.

Thinking about it, I could have contracted something that might hurt my voice, my whole career. How could I have let some petty crush with some Lima Loser cloud my judgment? I vowed to myself it would never happen again. I was young, and I would probably bounce back from anything, but I wasn't immune to things and I needed to remember what was most important in my life.

**A/N: Sorry for the long awaited chapters. I got engaged and so my time around internet has been spent wedding planning. I have been writing during my time away from internet though!**

Chapter 6: Rain

It had started to rain earlier in the day; the storm was only getting louder as Glee drew nearer. It was almost like it was trying to warn me of what was to come. However, glee arrived without incident. I went and sat next to Finn. Quinn, who was on his other side with his arm around her glared at me. I don't know why, he didn't even glance my way. Finn and I could still be friends right? Possibly not. I decided to move one seat down just to be on the safe side. Kurt plopped between Finn and I effectively cutting off Quinn's glare from my sight.

"Girl, I can't wait until you hear the song Blaine and I are singing. We are "Singing in the Rain" literally. It is kismet." Kurt looked at me beaming. Blaine sat down right behind Kurt and grinned at me too. I was starting to feel good. The rain wasn't for me, it was for them, and it was a good sign, not a bad one. Mr. Shue ran down the order in which everyone would sing. Santana and I were last. I suppose that's a good thing. She was off to the side with Brittney and Artie on the opposite side of the room.

Couple after couple sang, Brittany and Finn, Quinn and Mercedes, Artie and Lauren, Kurt and Blaine, Puck and Tina, Mike and Sam. Finally it was our turn. I was nervous only because there was never any indication of when Santana would snap and she so loved snapping in front of a crowd. The song went off without a hitch, it sounded lovely, not as good as I would have wanted but everyone seemed to like it.

Mr. Shue gave his normal accolades to everyone and dismissed us. Santana was up and out the door before I could thank her for singing with me and inviting her to do so again. I chased after her, hoping we could turn this into a friendship.

I caught her in the parking lot in the downpour but I made her stop and talk to me anyway. "Santana, can't you just acknowledge me once in a while? I wanted to say thanks."

"Hobbs, you are bad for my reputation, I don't slushy you and I don't insult you, I would say that's good enough."

Santana went to turn away and I wasn't going to let her get away with this. I was soaked with rain and I was offering her friendship and she just blew me off. I grabbed her arm and spun her back around. "Listen for once. I just wanted to thank you for singing with me and tell you I would like to do it again. You don't have to acknowledge me outside of Glee, I'm just trying to be nice here…"

Santana was in my face before the last trembling word left my mouth. "Don't touch me or talk to me again." Santana turned, jogged over to her car, got in it and left.

I couldn't stop myself, I started sobbing. How could Santana be so mean when all I wanted was to be her friend? Ok, true, I wanted more than that but she didn't know that! All she knew was that I was offering her my friendship. I was crying too hard to drive, so I decided to walk the two miles to my house. I obviously needed to think this through, there was a way to get to Santana, I just knew it!