CHAPTER 7
AN: So did you guys like the first part of the chapter? xD
Anyways, massive cliffhanger at the end of this part! I've also decided to make Chapter 9 into a trilogy, so it'll probably be a bit confusing. Sorry! but enjoy this chapter, because after the trilogy, I'm thinking of taking a week or two off to plot out the next move in the story.
I totally forgot to add what time of year this is set in… At the beginning of this story, it's set just before christmas break, so in December. Now it's about late January, early february.
Silver*
CHAPTER 7 - PART II
Rachel
A week has passed since Santana and Brittany had apologized at become acquaintances with Rachel. Now, they were inseparable. Passerby's on the weekends assumed they'd known each other for years, they were so close. Rachel had not expected it in the least, but now that she knew how similar Santana was to her these days, she embraced it.
She sat in Glee club on Thursday before the long weekend. There was no school tomorrow, so she'd planned a shopping trip with Britt and San. The rest of the club milled around, making plans for the weekend. As Mr. Schue walked in, the noise died down. Mr. Schue started handing out sheet music.
"Alright, I want to know what you guys think about using this song for Nationals," he explained, as they read over the sheets. "Rachel, I want you to take lead vocals for this, Finn, let's make you take the other lead," he mused. Rachel sighed.
"Do I have to be the lead singer in every song, seriously? Why not let Mercedes or Tina or even Quinn take the lead," she whined. The entire club slowly turned their heads to look at her like she was crazy. She stared at them, confused. "What?" she asked, challenging anyone to question her reasons. They all looked away and began fidgeting with something quietly. Mr Schue shrugged.
"Alright then… Mercedes, You're taking the lead," he said. As they went over the different lines of the song, Rachel found herself completely oblivious that someone had never taken their gaze off of her - and it wasn't Finn for once. The bell rang and everyone began to shuffle their way out of the choir room. Rachel kneeled down and collected her stuff, packing it neatly into her bag. As she turned around and got up, she nearly jumped out of her skin in surprise. Artie had silently come up behind her as she was packing her things.
"Oh my g- Artie! You scared me there!" she laughed quietly when she realized who it was. He smiled warmly.
"Don't worry, I'm used to it," he replied. "Sit with me for a moment?" he asked, gesturing to the chair Rachel had been sitting on in practice. Rachel hid the surprise from her face; Artie and her had seldom talked before now. She nodded, and took her seat.
"What is it?" she asked, curious. He set the break on his wheels, and then rested his hands in his lap.
"I spoke with Sam a few days ago," he began. Rachels' curious grin vanished, and a glazed expression replaced it. Of course he'd told someone about what happened between them; She'd half expected him to tell Mike, though.
"Oh," was all she said. Artie smiled sympathetically.
"I know you're probably going through a lot right now - Sam's gone, and he gave you no notice whatsoever, didn't he?" he murmured. She looked up at him from where her head had sunk into her hands. He had a look of understanding and sympathy on his face, and for once, Rachel was still confused. "I'm guessing you wish you had a chance to say goodbye, too," he added, and she nodded slowly.
"Yeah… But- why are you pointing that out?" she asked him. He took her hand in his and looked her dead in the eyes.
"I'm going to say something I probably shouldn't, and give you closure. I wanted to let you know that Sam was… He was really sorry he messed things up between you two. Partly because he'd burdened you with more drama, and partly because you mean a lot to him and he didn't want to hurt you." by the time he'd finished speaking, tears were running down her face and she had bowed her head again. Artie released her hand and moved his to rub her shoulder supportingly. They stayed there in the half-lit choir room for a long moment.
"I miss him so much…" she gasped through her sobs. "When he left, i-it felt like he- he was trying to remove me from his-s life…"
"Rachel, he does want you in his life. He left because he couldn't deal with being around you and not being able to talk to you. He really, really cares about you, I don't think that's going to change." A question arose in Rachels' mind. She looked up at the chair-bound boy in front of her.
"Why did you do this for me, Artie?" she asked him, wiping the tears off her cheek with a quick swipe of a thumb. He smiled again.
"Because I know you've been through a lot recently with Finn and I know you need someone to talk to - especially since Sam left… And because you deserved some closure; Finn never gave you anything to make you feel a little better about what happened between you two, he just left a gaping wound and expected you to deal with it on your own," he explained, and Rachel smiled.
"Thank you… You're right, he just left me bleeding… What you told me? It Did give me closure… I'm still hurting from it because he didn't say goodbye, but I know he's sorry that he hurt me," she murmured. Artie nodded, agreeing with her statement. Rachel stood up and slung her bag over her shoulder. "C'mon, I'll give you a ride home." Artie smiled again, and she chuckled.
"I'd like that, thanks."
Rachel grabbed the handles on the back of his chair and pushed him towards the parking lot, neither of them noticing the large figure of Finn hiding behind the choir room door, having heard the entire conversation.
Finn
Unbelievable. She's STILL upset over Sam?
Finn paced his room angrily. He'd run home immediately after Rachel and Artie had left, too furious to care about who saw him or if he pushed anyone out of the way in his journey home. He yanked the drawer on his desk open and extracted the notepad with his plan written on the pages. He began scribbling furiously, adding on and editing the plan. I stalled last week because Kurt told me to leave her alone to process. No more stalling. You go into action TOMORROW. He ripped the pages out of the notebook and folded them into his back pocket. He had a smug smile on his face when he fell asleep, dreaming happy dreams.
Rachel
For the first time in the last two weeks, Rachel woke up without bursting into tears. She knew that if anything happened, she had three amazing friends who would take care of her. Getting out of bed, she got changed into a pair of low-rise, dark blue flare jeans. She ruffled through her drawer, looking for her purple halter. "Where the HELL is it…?" she muttered to herself. Sighing in defeat, she put on a grey v-neck with gold, blue, and pink flower outlines on the front in a graphic design, and a long, flowing black vest over the V-neck. A pair of black heeled peep-toe bandage booties and a black/silver owl pendant finished the outfit. As she did her makeup, she began singing softly. "So this is me, swallowing my pride, standing in front of you, saying I'm sorry for that, night… And I, go back to december all the time. It turns out freedom meant nothing but missing you, wishing I'd realized what I had, when you were mine… And I, go back to december, turn around and make it alright… I, go back to december, all the time…" she stopped herself. Singing sad songs won't make it any better, Rachel. Get your mind off of him today, have fun! A knock on the front door below snapped her out of her daze. Running down the stairs, she was surprised to find Quinn on her doorstep. Her eyebrows raised in surprise as she met her gaze. "Quinn!" she said, her voice an octave higher. "What's up?" she added quickly. Quinn looked a little amused with Rachels' flustered expression. She smiled softly at Rachel.
"Do you mind if I come in? We need to talk," she murmured. Rachel noticed how relaxed Quinn was; There wasn't a trace of anger in her posture or in her expression, and she actually seemed like she was being kind and honest. Nodding, she stepped aside and let Quinn walk into her home. Rachel led her into the living room and they sat on the sofa.
"So what do we need to talk about?" she asked, confused. Quinn still had a soft smile on her face, and looked over at Rachel.
"I… I wanted to apologize. For attacking you and making a big deal out of what happened with Sam and your new look," she began. Rachel raised her eyebrows in surprise, but nodded to let Quinn continue. "I lost grip on reality for a long time… The truth is that I used to be just like you when I was in Junior High; being picked on regularly, ridiculed for my outfits, insulted for a sport, avoided because I was different; I was once in the same position. And the star sports guy seemed to like me… His name was Ryan. And he led me on, and made me believe we actually had something… Then he broke my heart. My dad transferred districts in his job that summer, and I was going to transfer to McKinley. So I changed myself to be a different person and then I was head cheerleader. I made myself promise I wouldn't lose grip on reality; That I wouldn't cave into the peer pressure and start picking on other people because I knew how it felt. But I lost that grip a long time ago, and I put you through hell. I thought I got my grip back when I was pregnant, but.. I lost it over the summer again. And you have no idea how terrified I was that I'd actually turned into a monster. I saw what Finn did to you with that Mayday Parade song. That was SO cruel, and totally wrong. I would have stopped him had I'd known what he was planning." she shifted to face Rachel. "I'm disgusted with myself for what I did, and I want to try and repair what I broke… If you let me, I'd like to get to know you, and in time, hopefully, become your friend. I'm hoping that by spending time with you, I'll get to keep my hold on reality more securely. So… I'm So, SO sorry for what I did, and if you forgive me, can we be friends?" She'd began to tear up halfway through her speech, and now she looked at Rachel with a pleading, honest-to-god guilty expression. Rachel didn't understand completely, but she knew that Quinn was in pain over what she'd done. In a split-second decision, Rachel leaned forward and wrapped her arms around the blonde ex-cheerio in front of her. They stood there for a few moments, before Rachel spoke up.
"I forgive you, Quinn. It's alright," she murmured, and pulled back to look her in the eyes, her hands still resting on Quinn's shoulders. "And yes, in time, we can grow to be friends… But right now, because this is still fresh and unclear, I need to ask you something. And I know it's going to sound bad, but I don't mean for it to be…" she mumbled. Taking a deep breath and re-aligning her thoughts, she began again. "When you were with Sam, did he ever mention where he'd go if he needed to leave for some reason?" she asked. Quinn smiled softly again.
"I get it, don't worry. You two are friends - Actually, more than friends - and you're in pain over him," she replied kindly, before looking down and concentrating. "Okay… umm… Sorry. I wish I knew, but he never really mentioned a lot about himself. Our relationship was kind of shallow, more about appearance than anything," she explained with a sheepish grin. Rachel nodded, smiling softly.
"Alright, It's okay. I just had to ask," she replied, and Quinn chuckled. Rachel stood up, and gestured towards the kitchen. "Have you eaten?" she asked.
"Yeah, I got ready before I came over here. Actually, speaking of which - I should probably go, I have to meet with Mrs. Dobson about an assignment," she said, and made her way over to the door, Rachel following behind her. She opened the door on her own, and turned to look at Rachel before she left. "I'll see you at school," she murmured, before the door shut and her footsteps faded off her front deck. Rachel sighed, and leaned against the end-post of the stairway railing. Did that really just happen? she wondered, before she returned upstairs to finish getting ready.
School was significantly better today then before. Classes breezed past for Rachel; She had at least one friend in every class, be it Santana or Quinn or Artie or Brittany. When classes ended and she made her way to the choir room, she noticed Finn slip out of the doors at the end of the hallway with a - Is that a purple duffel bag? she wondered, narrowing her eyes as the sunlight cast onto the bag in his hands. She shook it off, and continued to the choir room. She was the second last person in the room, so she took the seat next to Mercedes. Two seats remained, and Rachel felt her heart swell with sorrow when she remembered that only one of them would be filled by the end of this class. Dammit, Sam…
Finn strolled into the room then, a smug looking smile on his face and took the seat next to Puck. She narrowed her eyes, suspicious of his actions, but forgot about it soon after when Mr Schue strolled in and they began rehearsing the song they were planning on singing. Near the end of the class, when they'd decided to stop and a have a few minutes to relax, he asked if anyone had anything to sing. Rachel paused, hanging by a split-second decision. Should I? she wondered. Yeah. I think I should. She raised her hand, and Mr. Schue pointed to her.
"Yes, Rachel?" he asked, the tone of exasperation he used to use replaced with one of curiosity; Rachel seldom sang much these days in glee.
"I have a song I could perform," she suggested. "It's not the best piece of music I've done, and I've adjusted the lyrics a little bit to fit the situation, but I have the instrumental version on my iPod."
"Sure, have at it!" Mr. Schue replied, intrigued. Rachel rose from her seat and walked over to the large black stereo set on the shelves behind the piano. She plugged her electric purple nano chromatic into the dock and quickly selected the instrumental. She looked up and over to Quinn and Tina. "Could you guys help me with the backup?" she asked them, and they nodded, rising from their seats to stand behind Rachel as the music began playing. A small chorus of gasps came out of the girls who remained seated; Of course they'd recognize the song, but most of them were surprised that Rachel, who'd been hardcore on the alternative rock and metal these days, had chosen this song in particular. Rachel walked up to the mic and took it from the stand as she began to sing.
(Rachel, Tina/Quinn, All)
I'm so glad, you made time to see me,
How's life? tell me how's your family,
I haven't seen them in awhile…
You been good - Busier than ever,
Small talk, work and the weather,
Your guard is up, and I know why…
Because the last time, you saw me is still burned in the back of your mind,
You gave me roses, and I left them there, to die…
So this is me swallowing my pride,
Standing in front of you,
Saying I'm sorry for that night…
And I go back to December all the time,
It turns out freedom ain't nothing but missing you,
Wishing I'd realized what I had, when you were mine,
I go back to december, turn around and make it alright…
I go back to December all the time…
She looked at the expressions of the other glee club members. Mercedes, Kurt, Artie, Mike, Puck, Santana and Brittany's faces were solemn and filled with sympathy; Finn looked like he wanted to strangle something. Don't' give a shit, Finn, not anymore. She continued her singing.
These days, I haven't been sleeping'
Stayin' up playin' back myself leaving,
When your birthday passed, and I didn't call…
Then I think about the last month*, all the beautiful times,
I watched you laughing from the passenger side,
and realized I loved you even before…
And then the pain came*, the dark days,
When fear crept into my mind,
You gave me all your love, and all I gave you was… Goodbye…
So this is me swallowing my pride,
Standing in front of you,
Saying I'm sorry for that night…
And I go back to December all the time,
It turns out freedom ain't nothing but missing you,
Wishing I'd realized what I had, when you were mine,
I go back to december, turn around and make it alright…
I go back to December all the time…
She had tears streaming her face now, but she didn't hide it. Most of the club already knew about her and Sam anyways. When the song finished, Quinn and Tina stepped forward and grabbed her in a group hug. Rachel wasn't sobbing, but she was gasping for breath. When the bell rang, everyone who remained came up one at a time to give her a hug before they left - Well, not everyone, with the exception of Finn - and Rachel went to gather her things. As she stepped out of the choir room and into the hallway, She heard Mike calling for her as he ran up behind her. She slowed, and stopped, turning to wait for him. When he reached her he put his hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, You shouldn't be alone today. You want me and Tina to come over later, maybe watch a movie?" he asked her. She chuckled sheepishly.
"That'd be great, Mike. Thanks for the idea. I'll text you guys later when I'm ready, okay?" she said, and Mike nodded, before running back down the hall to catch up with Tina, who was heading the other way. Sighing, Rachel walked out of the school and began walking down the stairs. She was near the bottom when something small and heavy shot out and slammed into the side of her foot. She cried out in pain, lifting her foot. "SHIT! What the HELL was that? OW!" she groaned, as she pulled off the black bandage bootie to see her foot. There was a VERY large red mark on her foot, with a smaller greyish indent in the middle. She narrowed her eyes when she realized what it looked like. Her previous experience at Matt's 12th birthday party had proven useful when she recognized exactly what had made the mark.Why the hell is there a BB gun bruise on my foot? she wondered. As she put her foot down, the heel of her other boot was shot out from underneath her foot when another pellet shot it. She felt herself lose balance, trying to keep the weight off her foot, and the cold metal handrail for the stairs met the area behind her left ear as she fell. Her head went fuzzy for a moment, rattled by the impact of the handrail, but she kept conscious. Her mind went into hyperfocus as she broke her fall and used her Judo training the stop herself from getting any more injuries. She stopped herself a few stairs down. Whoa, adrenaline making me dizzy, she thought to herself as she gathered herself up and sat on the nearest stair. Her head didn't ache so much - she had a high sustenance for pain because she had to babysit Teegan when she was younger. But the adrenaline that was being pumped through her veins threw her off and she was feeling quite dizzy. She heard someone running down the stairs towards her. shit, BUSTED. She looked up and to her unfortunate dismay, Finn looked back down at her, his eyes wide with concern.
"Shit, Rach. Are you okay?" he asked her, and she nodded silently. He took the back of her neck with his open hand, and turned her head gently to see where the railing had connected. She felt even more dizzy and her upper body began to sway a bit. A hand gripped her shoulder, steadying her. "Whoa, easy. I'm going to get you to a doctor," he said, and she nodded numbly, too shocked to protest. Finns' arms slif underneath her and she felt herself being picked up Bridal-style and carried somewhere. The next thing she knew, she was sitting upright on an emergency room bed, an ice-pack on the back of her head and a bandage being wrapped around her elbow where she'd cut it on the pavement. She heard a doctor talking to Finn behind the curtain.
"-Take her home and make sure she gets LOTS of rest. She shouldn't be alone for the next… 48 hours," he was murmuring, and writing something on a notepad. He scribbled his signature and gave it to Finn. "This is a prescription for painkillers. She can't have more than 2 every 4 hours, and she'll be pretty unfocused when she takes them." Finn Nodded, and took the paper from him.
"I'll take care of her, don't worry," he murmured. The doctor rolled his eyes, muttering "Kids these days" under his breath, before walking away. The nurse wrapping her elbow in gauze finished up and she was discharged. Finn handed her a bottle of pills, and she looked up, confused. He smirked. "They're painkillers, the doctor prescribed them," he murmured, and handed her a glass of water. She nodded, still confused, but took one of the pills anyways. A few moments later, everything was fuzzy.
"Buh," she muttered, "It's really fuzzy."
"That's normal, Rach," he murmured. Rachel couldn't even find the anger to be pissed at him for calling her Rach. His arms slid underneath her and he carried her to his car again, laying her down in the backseat.
Finn.
She was unconscious in a deep sleep minutes later. Finn smiled smugly, looking at her in the rearview. This couldn't have gone better! The perfect sedation AND the perfect break! He took the turnoff for the highway, Rachel still fast asleep in the backseat. Okay now. Kentucky onwards! I think I can make it past the line before anyone notices… He floored the gas pedal as he hit the highway, the small town of Lima becoming a blimp on the radar behind them.