"So, what's McKinley like these days?" Kurt asked, flipping through Rachel's yearbook from the previous year from his spot on her bed. The brunette wondered what his thoughts were of all the photos, and she watched as he paused at a particular one.

"Well, Glee Club is no longer a spectacular way to find yourself in line for slushie facials," she replied, leaning forward and smiling at the picture he had stopped at. Last year was the first year there hadn't been some astronomical fight between Shuester and Figgins (and Sue Sylvester) to get the club in the yearbook, and the boy was staring at the photo as if it had been the last thing he had expected to see.

"Really?" he looked up, skepticism marring his features.

Rachel shrugged, feeling slightly guilty. "Not as much as it used to be, at the very least." She actually hadn't really noticed—once she'd stopped receiving the treatment herself—if her fellow members were granted the same neutrality.

"I guess that makes sense." Kurt flipped the cover over and rested his elbows on the hard surface. "So, what about you?" he asked. "Any boyfriends?"

The singer bit her lip as she debated on how to answer that. She refused to lie, and she highly doubted Kurt would use the information against her. After all, he didn't really have anyone to tell.

"There is no boyfriend," she admitted. "But…" she trailed off, not knowing how to describe the whole scenario.

"There's someone you're interested in?" he hedged, scooting closer to her as if they were in public and trying to be quiet.

"Well, not exactly. I've been receiving these notes." Rachel jumped off of her bed and grabbed her bookbag. She then unzipped a small pocket in front and pulled out the envelope carrying the notes she'd been collecting before going back to her original spot. "I showed them to Noah, but he said he was clueless about them."

Kurt unfolded the paper she handed him and she watched as he read each piece of material. Though he seemed confused at first, he finished the last note with a laugh and looked back up at the girl in front of him. Rachel's defenses went up and she wondered if maybe he hadn't been the right person to tell if he was just going to laugh at her.

"Rachel! You have a secret admirer!" he practically squealed, and it hit the diva that Kurt hadn't been laughing at her, he'd just been laughing because he was excited for her. "Do you have any idea who it is?" he ventured, and Rachel caught a look in his eyes.

"Well, Kurt, it wouldn't very well be a secret admirer if his identity was known, now would it?" she huffed.

"True," he acceded. "But we are going to try to find out who it is anyway, right?"

Rachel felt her face light up, happy and relieved to finally have a partner in crime that she could trust. "I was hoping you would help."

Kurt waved his hand in front of him as if it was nothing. "Please, I'm a sucker for drama as much as the next gay man. Now, have you made a list of possible suspects?" he asked, moving the slips of paper in order by number.

"Please, Kurt. My name wouldn't be Rachel Barbra Berry if I hadn't."


Rachel walked into school with one goal in mind: hide Kurt from the rest of the student body. He still had to go to classes, but her hope was that he would fly under the radar so that she could genuinely surprise the club with his presence.

She gathered her books for the day and, just as she left her locker to find the boy, he turned up with a card in hand.

"I know I shouldn't have forgotten something so important, but I completely forgot to give you this yesterday," he said as he handed over the envelope. "I was told it was of utmost importance."

Rachel eyed the envelope. "What's in it?" she asked, shaking it slightly to see if anything notable moved. She was about to open it when it was snatched from her hands.

"Nah ah ah," Kurt chided. "You can look at it later. Now, we need to use what little time we have to discuss the plan for today." Rachel pouted, but accepted his reasoning. Taking the envelope back, she slipped it into the cracks of her locker so as to save time, seeing as the first bell was about to ring.

As she linked arms with her friend, Rachel thought that the day could only get better.


Luckily for Kurt—or Rachel, rather—the boy had gone undetected throughout his day. She conceded that it was more likely due to his toned down dress attire than her masterful skills, but that didn't take away any bit of her pride as she headed to Glee.

They had decided that showing up a few minutes late would be the best option, as everyone would be present and therefore wouldn't miss the surprise. Rachel only hoped that Mr. Shuester would have enough sense to wait until she arrived. They were headed to the room and Kurt was talking about a tentative shopping day with Mercedes when Rachel felt her phone vibrate from her pocket.

Quinn: Where are you?

Rachel stopped walking just a few feet away from the choir room and bit her lip. It was the first time Quinn had texted her since Friday.

"Rachel, what's wrong?" Kurt asked from beside her, his voice quiet so no one in the club would hear him.

Looking at the boy, Rachel realized she didn't have to answer the text. Her chest lost the tightness it had grown and she heaved out a sigh. "I'll tell you later?" she said as she tucked the phone back into her pocket.

Kurt nodded, though his eyes were unsure, and edged her closer to the door. "Now hurry up, it's been too long since last I sang."

Rachel shook her head, seeing as they sang together the previous night, and smiled as she headed over to the choir room door. It was already open, so she stood in the entrance and started her announcement.

"Dear fellow Glee Club members," she said, hearing Mr. Shuester pause in whatever he was saying. She felt slightly bad for the interruption, but she knew the surprise would be worth it to the man. "I have a surprise for all of you."

She vaguely watched as each member's facial expression changed to varying degrees, but she found herself looking out most intently for Quinn's. Watching her friend send her a quizzical look only wounded Rachel all the more, and she wondered if this was just another act on the blonde's part.

"What is it, Rachel?" Shue asked. Rachel snapped her head toward the man and noticed that he seemed genuinely curious. She smiled at him and knew he wasn't upset over the interruption. A quick look back at the rest of the club had her smile growing.

"May I present to you the not-so-newest member of Glee Club!" She immediately moved over so Kurt could side-step into view and she watched as a slightly self-conscious smile framed his face. He waved, albeit a little more awkwardly than she had imagined he would, and she took it upon herself to re-integrate him back into the club. A slight push inside of the room was all it took.

Most of the members were out of their seats, immediately ready to greet the boy. Rachel noticed how some stayed back, as in two of the three Cheerios and Noah. Quinn remaining seated threw the brunette for a loop; Kurt hadn't been her best friend for life or anything, but Rachel had still expected at least a wave or a smile. Instead, the blonde just looked perplexed.

The surprise wearing down, Rachel watched on as Mercedes drew Kurt to sit beside her, warmth filling her chest at her friend's instant acceptance. She walked over to her own seat, feeling that warmth drain with each step, and aimed her gaze to the front of the room. She could feel Quinn's eyes on her, but she wasn't going to cave.

Out of her peripheral, she thought she saw Quinn's mouth open as if she was going to say something, but Mr. Shuester chose that moment to continue on with the lesson. Whatever words she had formulated must have died on her lips.


"You're ignoring me," Quinn stated the moment Glee ended. Her hand reached out to touch Rachel's shoulder, but she pulled it back last second when the other girl stood up abruptly and fixed her with a stare.

"I most certainly am not," Rachel retorted, gathering her books. She wanted to make a hasty exit so that she could mull over the events of the day. It wasn't that she was mad at her friend, because she wasn't. She really just wanted to think about things now that she wasn't on a Kurt-induced high.

The previous school day had ended on such a serious note that she'd gotten carried away at Kurt's arrival. With reality setting in, the brunette remembered that finding out about her mystery man was secondary to her problems with Quinn—something she'd clearly forgotten.

"Rachel," Quinn called softly, her tone quite the opposite of the day before. Rachel found herself wanting to turn around and address the blonde, but she refrained. She needed a clear conscious and she knew she'd forgive Quinn the moment she looked at her.

"I have to go. I'll talk to you later," she spoke over her shoulder. The disappointed sound that escaped from Quinn's throat had her tightening her grip on her books, but Rachel refused to break her resolve.

Once she was seated in her car and buckled up, Rachel allowed herself to process what had just happened. She slammed her head against her steering wheel as the guilt of ignoring her friend hit her full-fledge. She had never been good at holding grudges.

Knowing there was no way she'd be able to think much with so many worries nagging at her, Rachel found herself unconsciously reaching for her phone to text Quinn an apology. Only, when she reached back for it, it wasn't in her pocket. Rachel frowned, sure she had last put it there.

Her thumbs tapped out a random beat on the steering wheel as she mulled over when she might have lost it. The only option that made sense was that it slid out when she had sat down for Glee, which would mean it would be somewhere by her chair.

Exiting her vehicle, Rachel trudged all the way back to the choir room hoping she was right, and that no one had already picked it up for her. Sure enough, the first thing she noticed in the room was her phone resting right on the back of her seat, almost ready to fall off.

The slightest bit of worry she'd felt at losing her phone evaporated and she blew out air that would have blown her bangs up had she still had any. Just like Quinn had withdrawn her hand earlier, Rachel paused in her reach with only an inch left until the phone was in her hand.

Her view of the sleek black panel was hindered by a piece of paper lying plainly on top of it and she knew what it was without thought.

Though she was now immune to the excitement of the notes, they still filled her with a certain hesitancy that left her stomach feeling tight and heavy. With each note, she felt further away from Quinn and she wasn't sure if it was due her friend's deception or her own. Just when she thought she could have the day to herself, Mr. Anonymous had to go and ruin it.

She plucked the paper up, bringing it closer to get the moment over with.

#11 She h8s txt tlk

Rachel was confused, staring down at the note. She could have sworn the last one had been number nine. For the second time, she found herself questioning the note-maker.

Had he simply found her leaving her phone convenient enough to skip the tenth reason, or had she missed a note somewhere? She felt her face scrunch and she smoothed it out, not willing to get wrinkles over whichever boy was admiring her from afar.

Having texted a lot of people in her lifetime, and informing most of them of her hate of shortened text, she knew there would be no crossing off names for this note. The thought filled her disappointment because, even though she was more concerned with Quinn at this point, she was still a girl who appreciated being sought after.

The thought of Quinn reminded Rachel of how she had realized her phone's absence in the first place. She quickly unlocked it and sent an apology to her friend, asking if they could talk the next day. The brunette only hoped Quinn wouldn't be too upset with her, as her friend was much better at holding grudges than she was.

Pocketing the note, and her phone, Rachel headed back to her car. Even though it had started out well, she was more than ready for this day to be over.