CHAPTER ELEVEN:

Rachel Berry, Meet Your Sister: Chapter Eleven

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee!

Okay everyone, you've had another chapter from Quinn's POV – I think we all know what's going on there, don't you? The normal gay panic, suppressed lemon kind of thing? Yes – that is all correct, but super sleuths (you don't have to be super, it's pretty obvious) may detect a little bit more to it than that. Anyway, if any of you recall – which, hopefully, you don't – I accidently posted a chapter that was NOT the right chapter a little while ago. Chapter Six I think it was. It had Karofsky in it. If any of you read that one, consider it a preview to this chapter. If not, be pleasantly surprised by the following chapter.

Please enjoy.

JO POV

"What is wrong with you?" Rachel pushes me into the wall. She looks immediately remorseful but covers it with a glare and, hands on hips, stares me down. I am confused. I normally am when it comes to my little sister because she is unusual – an eclectic accumulation of modesty, pride, nerves, talent, kindness, brilliance, and tactlessness – but thanks to that little altercation with Quinn, which I am still thinking about, I am doubly confused.

"Pardon?"

"I wasn't there when you were attacked by Santana and you came home battered and bruised! I couldn't protect you." She is glaring quite fiercely. I have the feeling that it would be cute if it weren't directed at me. "And then when Quinn is looking almost homicidal and has just hit you, you send me away! What is wrong with you? Why won't you just let people help you? It is both a civic duty and a familial duty for me to assist you and protect you against aggressors if I am able to!" I smirk.

"I really don't think that is a civic duty Rach." She deflates a little but the only comeback she has at the ready is 'shut up.' "Rach, look at me." I hold my arms out to the side and turn in a circle. "I am fine, I assure you of that. Other than the slap – which barely hurt thank you very much – no blows were exchanged." Rachel frowns but insists on poking my cheek and making sure that I really am unharmed before engulfing me in a big hug. And, naturally, we have to be disturbed but a homophobic pig.

"God, lessos – keep it in your room." My head snaps up and I lock eyes with the bully. He is big and square. And, of course, I don't think about it before snapping at him. Think of it like this – since I didn't feel like I could hit Quinn back (not while she was looking at me with those huge terrified eyes. Question – scared of me or something else?) all of this rage and fear is kind of building up inside of me. I'm going to take it out on this arsehole.

"Back off dude." He sneers.

"Isn't that cute. Manhands found herself a girlfriend." He looks me up and down. "Not much of a girl though." I roll my eyes. Oh joy. What unimaginable wit and intelligence! "Hey Stubbles," he says, addressing Rachel and he takes a step forward. "Here's a slushie – congrats for coming out." He pulls his arm back to splash the cup in Rachel's face and I step in front of her so that it splashes on my chest instead. He laughs. I pin him with a glare and the few students in the hallway gasp. Apparently this was not a guy to be messed with – as is evident by the way Rachel is tugging on my arm – but I just smirk at him.

"What's your name?" He doesn't answer but Rachel whispers 'Dave Karofsky' from behind me. "Okay then Dave, this is how it's going to go down. I haven't had a great day so I'm going to just tell you to leave my best friend alone and, following that, you have two options." I hold up one finger in front of his face. I'm not sure how great his attention span is so I make it simple. "Option One. You can apologise right now, first to Rachel and then to me, and we walk away from this happy and you have all your limbs in tact." I slowly raise a second finger. "Option Two. You make some kind of rude remark and walk away. If that happens, I will tackle you to the ground and punch you in the face twice, quite possibly breaking your nose. Then I will let you stand up so you can try to hit me." I grin wildly. "Never let it be said that I'm not fair. I'll kick you in the nuts and then I will take your right hand and break your wrist if you don't apologise to us at that point."

Apparently I'm not very intimidating, or he is extremely stupid, because he laughs and, like I anticipated, tells me that I'm going to hell and if I need any help he can straighten me out –accompanied by a rude gesture. He turns to leave and I tackle him with ease, just like I promised.

I flip him over and punch him in the face twice. Hard. I feel his nose crack on the second punch and blood spurts, so I stand and let him get to his feet. A huge fist flies towards me. I modify my plan somewhat. I drop to the floor in a crouch and sweep his feet from under him. When he stands again, this time kind of unsteadily, he attacks me again.

"I will fuck you up, freak!" I ignore him and, when he goes to punch me again, I dart towards him, grab his jacket, bring my knee up sharply into his groin, and push him down gently to his knees. I grab his right hand and twist it, pulling it up and behind his back and crouch down next to him.

"I'm sure that you're bright enough to remember what happens if you don't apologise right now," I growl. I twist his arm sharply and he grunts. "I promised to break your wrist, remember?" He whimpers and I close my eyes against the sound. Fuck me, but I hate hurting people. For Rachel, I think. He is a bully and he hurts Rachel. "I'm going to give you to the count of ten to catch your breath and apologise before I break your wrist, mkay?" I count slowly. I've heard that it's pretty devastatingly painful to be kicked in the nuts. "One. Two…" I get to seven before he finally caves in (and I've been tightening my hold on his wrist the whole time and twisting slightly) and he cries out.

"I'm sorry for trying to slushie you Berry and saying that about you!" I purse my lips at his calling her 'Berry' but let it slide. I loosen my grip. "And I'm sorry for slushying you." He rushes the words out and, while I admit that they're slurred and sound funny because of the broken nose, they sound sincere. Pain can do that to a person. I let go of his arm and clap him on the shoulder, telling him to stay where he is. He seems pretty content to slump on the ground. The packed hallway – good old lunch time fun, watching a fight – clears in record time as people realise that now would be a good time to leave.

I glance to the left and see Santana staring at me from down the hall, where she is standing with Brittany, but I focus on Rachel who is pressed up against the wall opposite me. I walk towards her very slowly, hands out by my side so she can see them. I'm terrified that she's about to run away from me, which must have shown on my face because she softens and takes my left hand gingerly.

"Thank you Jo. Although I firmly believe that violence is never the answer, that was very brave, foolish, and sweet of you." She lowers her voice and flushes slightly. "And I'm sorry that he insinuated that we were together. I know that a lot of people have said that and you must hate it." Something in her voice alerts me to the fact that she is saying that self-deprecatingly and I scoff.

"Rach, I don't hate it because they think I'm with you. I hate it because you are my sister and that is gross and then I hate it because they are using it like an insult. It's not an insult to be with you – you are cool and funny and amazingly talented. It's just gross because you are my sister." I crinkle my nose and she gags as well but smiles at me.

"Thank you." I nod and catch her looking at the slushie stain on my shirt.

"Oh, hey, don't worry about it. I'll just drive home and get a new shirt. Brittany has a spare at the moment and Santana is helping studying with her." Rachel smiles and I smirk. "Run off to class then kiddo." I ruffle her hair and she scowls and whips around to look in the window, taming her hair. As she leaves, she asks me not to kill Dave but assures me that she would help me hide the body. I look over to make sure that he's still sitting there. Sure enough, he's there, and poking at his rapidly swelling broken nose, wincing.

I move to him but, before I can reach him, Santana grabs my elbow. I gently extricate myself from her grip. "If you can fight like that, why the fuck did you let me hit you?" I remember our little fight.

"I don't usually hit girls." She frowns like she doesn't believe me, which is fair enough. "Also, I kind of deserved your ass-kicking." I lowered my voice and lean in to her. "I didn't mean what I said to you about Britt. Just thought you should know that." I lean back and smirk, shrugging. "I won't be back for a while so look after Britt today, okay?" She gives me a look that I interpret as 'of course I will, you dolt' and she stalks away, hooking her pinkie with Brittany's. The ditzy but utterly adorable blonde waves goodbye to me and I wave back before turning to Dave and crouching next to him. Hopefully the smile will creep the fuck out of him and he won't challenge me or something else that will make me have to hit him again.

He looks up at me and flinches, obviously anticipating a flying kick to the face from me. I sigh and listen to the sinking feeling in my gut that tells me that I have to make this right or I will hate myself forever.

"Can you stand?" I ask him, voice mild and calm, and his eyes widen and dart around nervously. "Dave. Relax. I'm not asking you so that I can beat you up some more." He stares at me for a while before nodding and attempting to stand. He staggers and I dart forward, wrapping my arms around him – one around his shoulders, one under his armpit. I help him up and lean him against the lockers. He is still eyeing me warily so I take a big step back and extend my hand slowly.

"Hi there. I am Jo Corcoran. Sorry for, you know, hitting you." He blinks. I find myself rambling to him almost immediately. I usually do ramble to my victims. "Rachel is my best friend, okay? We aren't dating or anything like that. I think of her as a sister and I'm sorry that I hurt you but I get very protective and I was really angry when I found out that people were bullying her at the start of term, so I guess I took most of that out on you and that wasn't fair. I did warn you that I would do all of that," I gesture at the damage and at the blood that is trickling from his nose, despite his pinching it shut. "I probably shouldn't have broken your nose. Sorry." I take a deep breath. I hate being nervous. My left hand is tapping rapidly on my thigh and he still hasn't accepted my right hand to shake, so I pull it back awkwardly.

I fish my car keys out of my pocket and nod to the doorway. "Come with me." I turn on my heel and hear him shuffling behind me. I probably hit him harder than I had intended to if he was consensually following the person who beat him up…

I open the passenger door of my car for him, which he slips into after a moment. "Are they ever going to find my body?" He asks timidly after a few minutes of my driving and I flash him a grin.

"If I was going to kill you then no, they wouldn't find your body. Rachel promised to help me hide you if I did and she's pretty devious." He nods slowly.

"So… you aren't going to kill me?" I shake me head no.

"Not today Dave. Didn't you hear my apology before?" He nods again, shrugging.

"Yeah, but I thought that it was one of those things that girls do to confuse you and then make you feel worse." I laugh.
"Nah, think of it as guy logic. You were an ass so I hit you and now we're all good." He thinks about it for a moment and nods.

"I should be grateful for that, I think. Most girls can hold grudges for years and if you did that too you could beat me up heaps." He chuckles slightly. "So, where are you taking me?" I don't answer because I am already pulling into a park and he peers out the window. "The hospital? Are you planning on breaking my legs and dumping me here?" I smirk. I like his humour.

"Get out smartarse. I said I was sorry for punching you, so let me make it up to you by making sure that you're okay." His face slackens and I freak out for a second because I think he's having an aneurysm or a stroke or something but I realise that it is just shock. He pulls himself out of the car and I jog around to walk next to him in case he falls over. We slowly make our way to the reception with me smothering a grin because I know that the reason he is walking like a bowlegged cowboy is because I kicked him in the balls (that's not funny people. Don't kick people in the dangling bits unless in self-defence. It can have serious medical repurcussions.)

We are shown to a treatment room and, when the doctor is finished patching him up and we're waiting for the bill and to be discharged, I purse my lips and think 'what the hell, why not' and say what I've been thinking for a little while.

"Why do you hate gays?" From his attitude – and his insults – it is obvious that he's somewhat homophobic. He looks so miserable for a moment that it's my turn to be shocked and I just say 'oh'. He whips his head up and glares at me, but the raccoon eyes that are now showing are making it less impressive.

"What? Why did you say that? Tell me!" He's panicking so I move to sit next to him.

"Dave, relax. I said that because, well, are you gay?" His face falls and he clenches a fist.

"No! I'm not gay!" He takes a deep breath. "Being gay is disgusting and gross and a sin. I'm…I'm not gay!" I lay a hand on top of his.

"Dave. Relax. I'm certainly not going to judge you. I'm gay, did you know?" He flinches and averts his eyes – probably thinking that he's just insulted gays again and I have made it clear that I can beat him up. Which he did. And I can. I run a hand through my hair and sigh. "Look, Dave." I think back to what Rachel said to me when she thought I'd insulted Santana. "It must suck to be gay in a town like Lima. New York is tolerant of the homosexual community so that's pretty cool." I don't look in his eyes because, well, I'm not really comfortable with giving advice and emotions and stuff like that (and yet I seem to be doing a heck of a lot of it). "Um, I guess you just have to remember that Lima, Ohio is not the entire world and that high school is not your whole life. And there are people that will be important to you that will like you despite or because you are gay. The people important to me don't think I'm disgusting or gross." I smirk to show him I'm teasing. "And honestly, as far as I'm concerned, if God doesn't like gays and that makes me a sinner, He can go to hell."

I know that he's been listening but he still looks miserable so I search my brain to find something that could help him, or cheer him up or something. "It doesn't define who I am, you know. I'm a bitch, and immensely intelligent, and modest, and a black belt, and I like to eat an unhealthy amount of m'n'ms and I just happen to like girls. So what?" I shrug and, thank god, he finally blinks and smiles. Just a tiny bit, but it's a smile so I count that as a success.

"I like m'n'ms," he murmurs and I grin at him. So what if he avoided the main point of my speech?

"Dave, I think we are going to be good friends." I extend my hand again, like I had earlier at school. "Jo Corcoran, lesbian."

"Don't you think it's a little weird that you broke my nose and now we're friends?" I frown. Good point. But then again, that's how I made my first (and only, other than Rachel and Puck) friend so it's not really that strange for me.

"No."

"Oh." He stares at my hand before taking it in his own huge hand (I am tempted to call it a paw) and shakes it firmly.

"Dave Karofsky." He pauses and takes a deep breath. "I'm a jerk and I really like to draw. I play hockey and football and…I like guys." I beam at him and he laughs. "Huh. Maybe you've really got something going. It's easier to talk to someone that's punched your face in than to any of your other friends. Not that I really have any friends. Everyone is scared of me and my best friend, Azimio, is a homophobe." I frown thoughtfully.

"Azimio…big black dude?" Dave nods. "I think I kicked him in the nuts the other day." Dave grins and nods again. "Good time Davey, good times." I sling an arm around his shoulders. I don't normally touch people, or let people touch me, but maybe it's the fact that he's gay or maybe it's because I've punched him in the face and he really knows that I can kick his ass, but I feel relaxed and comfortable enough to hug his shoulders. We wait in silence for the doctor to return and discharge Dave.

I spend the time contemplating the strangeness of all of this. I never really did anything in New York but the moment I arrive in Lima, Ohio and I meet my sister, all this drama starts. First – I am accepted into an extraordinarily gay family, then a very attractive girl pummels me, I tutor said girl's secret girlfriend/lover, I become advisor to the Glee Club (which seems to be made up of a bunch of gossipy teens, other than my sister who is supremely talented, and a giant barely-adequate male lead), I became friends with a sex shark (whom I would normally have avoided), I've been slapped by the Ice Quinn, and I've made friends with a closet-case homophobic-and-yet-gay bully. Life is good…

"Okay then. Everything looks good Mr Karofsky. You and your girlfriend can leave by the front desk." We glance at each other and grin but don't bother to dissuade the doctor. At the reception, I hand over my card to pay for the fees.

"Relax Dave. It's the least I can do and I have plenty of money to pay for the nose that I broke." He nods reluctantly. "Do you really want to try to explain to your parents why they are being billed for your broken nose? I guarantee that you will freak out and out yourself." That appears to be the clincher and he nods quickly for me to pay. I glance at the clock and wince. 2:56. Crap. I whip out my phone and send off a text to Rachel.

To Rachel Berry *: Meet you in the car park. Almost immediately I get a response.

From Rachel Berry*: Okay. See you there.

I take back my card from the receptionist and usher Dave to my car, speeding back to the school. (Well, not speeding exactly. Just driving at the upper most part of the speed limit. I do not encourage speeding – it is dangerous people!) I make Dave move to the back seat of the car as Rachel approaches and, when she sees who is sitting in the car, she pauses. She looks at me and I nod reassuringly so she hops in. The car ride home is abnormally quiet and Dave shifts uneasily in his seat. Rachel eyes him in the mirror and watches his every move. I just watch the road.

Rachel jumps out of the car when I pull into the driveway and I tug Dave inside. "No, Jo, I really don't think I should." He argues. He looks kind of strange – talk and hulking – in the front room of the Berry's house. "Berry really doesn't want me here." He is shifting his weight from foot to foot and shoves his hands deep into his pocket.

"While that is true, I would certainly not send you away without knowing that you are well." Rachel has returned and holds out an icepack to Dave who takes it from her gingerly and holds it to his nose. I can see two men – Leroy and Hiram, obviously – peeking around the corner of the kitchen and I know that Dave hasn't seen them.

"Um, thanks Berry." Rachel nods stiffly and I don't know quite where to stand. On one hand, I know that I should back up my sister and I do take her side on the fact that he has bullied her for ages and she shouldn't just forgive him because I punched him in the face. On the other hand, I think that Dave is misunderstood and angry and took it out on the wrong people and also that he has a wicked sense of humour and he could, potentially, be a very good friend. He takes a deep breath and I know that this is the make-it-or-break-it moment. I just hope that he knows it too. He fixes his gaze on the ground and I just hope he says 'sorry' or something. It's better than that.

"Look, Berry. Shit. Sorry. Rachel. I'm, um, I'm sorry." He stutters. He lets the icepack fall from his face and licks his lips. His words are still a little slurred because of his nose but fully understandable. But from the look on Rachel's face, I don't think she really believes she's hearing it. "I know there's no excuse for what I did to you, like, you know, the slushies and stuff, and I know you never deserved it. I, um, I've been dealing with some stuff and I did it badly and I made some stupid mistakes and um, I know that's no excuse. You were the easiest person to pick on because you're so different and I think I hated that 'cause you are so sure of yourself and I know it sucks and I'm sorry and…yeah." He hands me the icepack, which I take, and slowly extends a hand towards Rachel. She looks at it for a long moment before taking it quietly, shaking it once. She turns and walks away to the kitchen where Leroy and Hiram are standing there, equal parts shocked and angry.

Dave turns to me and gives me a hesitant grin. "That's the best I can do at the moment." I blink. It's more than I had expected from him. Honestly. I didn't think he would have had a complete turn about so soon. Then again, he probably had a turn about ages ago but had no way to implement it and today was the first chance he'd seen to try and fix things…

"Thanks for telling me all that stuff." I just nod and he leans in to whisper in my ear. "Can you, like, not tell anyone about what we talked about?" I nod again easily and he grins widely in response, and then winced when it shifts his nose. "Cool." He loiters for a second. "Can I give you my phone number?" I nod again, handing over my phone. If he thinks it strange that I only have five numbers saved in it – Leroy, Hiram, Rachel, Puck, and Brittany – he says nothing and just waves goodbye, and nods to Rachel who stares at him. The door closes behind him and the sudden silence echoes for a long moment.

"What the hell was that?" She wasn't angry, just shocked. I blink at the door.

"I think I just made a friend." I murmur but then shake myself out of my shock. "But other than that, about the speech? I have no clue. Really. We talked and I thought maybe he'd just say sorry but I didn't know he would say any of that stuff." Rachel stares at me intently. "Honest to God." I hold my hand up as if swearing an oath and she nods.

"What did you talk about?"

I hesitate for a moment but shake my head. The first test of friendship. "I can't tell you. It's a secret." She scowls and I scowl right back. "He might be a bully and he might have been mean to you for ages but I told him that I wouldn't tell anyone and it isn't anything that will affect you so, no, I won't tell you. It is a secret," I stress and she huffs.

"Fine."

"Fine," I say right back and Leroy and Hiram exchange shrugs.

"Well then girls. Enough drama." Leroy claps his hands and grins at us. "Wash your hands and come and help me make dinner."

So that's that. I hope you enjoyed it. I'm aware that it seems slightly sudden but I need it to happen and I really like it. I really like Dave in the series – other than the bullying, of course – and I think he deserves a bit of relief and maybe a friend. Please review. Happy reading, readers :)