Hand in Hand
Pairings: Quinn/Rachel
Summary: Rachel is tired of being on the bottom of the social ladder, so she does the one thing she can think of to increase her status, she tries to become a Cheerio. Takes place after the first episode of season 2, but with one or two minor changes.
Disclaimer: Glee and its characters don't belong to me, not even a little.
Author's note: This is the first time I publish a story and just a warning, I'm really not a writer. But I had this idea and thought that I would give it a try, and not just sitting here and reading all of your lovely stories.
If you would be kind enough to point out what I can do better, I'd appreciate it. Also, I plan to continue this story, but let me know I you want that too, otherwise it will probably die after a couple of chapter.

Chapter 1

Rachel was laying on her bed feeling completely devastated. First of all, she had broken up with Finn during the summer after learning that he in fact did lose his virginity to Santana (thank God that she herself never slept with him). Secondly, the Glee club hadn't had the change in status she was so desperately hoping for and now, thirdly, everyone in the club hated her for what she had done to Sunshine who, because of Rachel, now had transferred to Vocal Adrenaline. Even Mr. Schue was disappointed in her. No one in Glee had talked to her for days and she was more harassed than ever, sometimes even receiving two slushies a day. Rachel even resisted her urge to comment on everything during rehearsals and just sat quietly, alone in a corner, until she had to sing, and even then she was more restrained than usual.

She couldn't stop the tears that had started to run down her cheeks and since her dads were out of town, there was not a soul to comfort her now when she was in such dire need of some compassion and support. The only silver lining was that she had the whole weekend ahead of her to try and figure out a way turn everything around. Hours later when she had finally stopped crying, but had come nowhere close to a solution, she fell asleep in a restless sleep filled with nightmares of what was to come the following week.

Monday morning Rachel was determined and ready to face the week, because if everything went according to the plan she had come up with, her life was going to change drastically in just one week, and what is one more week of torture compared to being safe for the rest of her high school years. It was important though, that no one found out about her plan or else there were a impending risk of it all falling apart. It really was the only plan she had been able to come up with that didn't include transferring to a school in another state, and the plan was that she was going to be a cheerleader, a Cheerio.

This is why she was now always (secretly) observing the Cheerios whenever they practiced, taking notes and even filming them, and at one point she thought to herself that even Jacob Ben Israel would be proud of her if he found out, which of course she wouldn't allow him to do.

During the week she continued being harassed by the students and ignored by the Glee club, but Rachel had a purpose, and now when she felt that she could almost touch the finish line, nothing was going to stop her, so when she went home the following Friday, it was with a smile, despite a bag with no less than three sets of slushied outfits.

She spent the following weekend learning every step to every routine she had witnessed during the week and memorized it, and when she went to bed Sunday night, completely exhausted and sore in every muscle in her small body, she felt both nervous and excited about the next morning when she would take a spot on the squad. She doubted very much that Sue would give her more than a minute to convince the terrifying coach that she was good enough to become one of Cheerios, but that was the reason for her excessive stalking of their practices and her own steep learning process.

She arrived at school early and figuring that it was important to at least appear confident, she just walked into Sue's office and actually sat down in her chair, this would either prove to be a stroke of genius or the death of her. While waiting she went over her audition in her head several times and focused on taking deep long breaths to calm her nerves, Sue truly was a frightening woman.

After waiting for what seemed to be hours, she finally heard steps outside of the office and thought to herself that this was it, the moment that would either improve her life or destroy her down to a level that meant not transferring to a school beyond a 1,000 miles of radius would be out of the question.

When Sue walked in through the door and spotted the tiny brunette in her chair she stopped and actually dropped her chin and while trying to find her words, she mimicked a fish by closing and opening her mouth several times. Rachel was quick to take advantage of the situation and took command by simply starting to talk.

"Good morning Ms Sylvester. You're probably wondering as to why I'm here, and the reason is that I intend to take a spot on your squad." Rachel had concluded that giving a long speech to the blonde would not be beneficial, so instead she had decided to keep things concise. Rachel's statement caused Sue to wake up and she instantly snapped back at the abomination still sitting in her chair and now had the nerves to demand to be a Cheerio.

"Are you out of your mind! You come in here, sit in MY chair and tell me that you expect me to just give you a spot on my squad! Are you on drugs or something! Is that what you losers do in William's pathetic, merry little club, drugs? Because clearly you must be high thinking that this stunt you're trying to pull would actually work." Sue screamed and turned red in her face, but Rachel just sat still and listened to Sue's outburst and waited for her to finish before getting up and walking around the desk to stand a couple of feet from the blonde.

"Of course not. I simply request a fair tryout like everyone else had to undergo, but I am certain you will be pleasantly surprised. If it's agreeable with you I am willing to do it after the Cheerios' practice this evening." Sue was quiet for a while, pondering the diva's request but when no answer came Rachel decided to play her strongest card.

"As I see it Ms. Sylvester, it's a win-win situation for you. If I am in fact good enough to become a Cheerio, I could prove to be an asset for you when working on winning yet another title. However, if I don't succeed, you, your cheerleaders and everyone else in this school will have something new to laugh about, the silly little singer who thought she was good enough to be a Cheerio. And most importantly, no matter if I succeed or not, you will be able to gloat to Mr. Schuster over the fact that his biggest star wanted to be a part of your squad, a fact that would certainly take him down a notch or two and put you at an even greater advantage over him in your ongoing battle." Rachel got quiet and watched Sue's expression. Sue's mouth twitched into a small smile, obviously thinking about Will's future reaction to this shocking event, all before giving the hopeful brunette an answer.

"When you put it that way, fine. I guess I could need a good laugh after a couple of hours watching a bunch of useless girls and this will no doubt crush William. I'll see you in the gym at six sharp, a minute late and you lose your chance. Is that understood?" Sue barked out at the now smiling brunette.

"Understood, coach." Rachel smirked and left the office only to be met with a fresh slushie in her face and roaring laughter. This didn't bring her down though. Instead she just smiled at the jock who threw the slushie, patted him on his shoulder and walked away towards the closest bathroom, leaving several students speechless and utterly surprised.

All of the Cheerios were surprised to find Rachel Man-Hands Berry sitting on the bleachers watching them with a smirk on her face, but as soon as Sue arrived the diva was quickly forgotten by everyone except Quinn, Santana and Brittany, the only three Cheerios that was in Glee as well, who was all (except for Brittany) well aware that the tiny brunette was up to something, and that this something definitely wasn't a good thing. So throughout the entire practice Quinn and Santana glared at Rachel, constantly wary of her. Brittany on the other hand waved at the girl, thinking it was fun with some audience, however small it was, but when Quinn and Santana looked like they would kill her for waving, she did as her friends and glared at the brunette who surprisingly seemed completely unfazed by the trios' death stares.

After the practice was over and Sue had yelled at her cheerleaders for over twenty minutes about how much they sucked and that they would never win at nationals if they didn't stopped this pathetic excuse for what they called cheerleading and started listening to her orders. Before she let them hit the showers she informed them that practice tomorrow would be an extra three hours, and every following one too until they got their act together. It was safe to say no one of the girls said a word, too afraid of incurring the wrath of the older blonde woman.

During the practice Rachel's confidence had decreased immensely. Sure, she was fit, but she probably wouldn't last haft of what the Cheerios just had endured, let alone another three hours of it. She was twitching nervously in her seat when Sue turned around, and when the woman saw this she smirked and addressed the small brunette.

"Okay RuPaul, you're up! Last chance to run away with your tail behind your legs, or man up and take the consequences of your imminent failure." Sue looked even more pleased when Rachel hesitated, her eyes searching for the exit. However Rachel wasn't one to give up at the first setback when she had really set her mind on something, so she took a deep breath and faced Sue.

"Yes I am Ms. Sylvester. If you would like to take a seat, I am just going to start the music and then I'm ready to completely overwhelm you." Sue wasn't impressed by the girl's act of confidence, but took a seat and then pulled out a video camera and pointed it at Rachel and simply asked her to start. Rachel then pressed play and stood herself in front of her future coach and began the mash up (she had created this on her own) of all of the Cheerios routines she had witnessed during the previous week.

After a couple of minutes Rachel finished with a backflip and smiled a 10,000 watts smile รก la Broadway, because being cheerful was important for a cheerleader, 'obviously' she thought. She was utterly pleased with herself and if she was allowed to say so herself, she nailed her tryout. When she looked over at Sue she was taken aback by surprise. Because in front of her sat Sue Sylvester, camera still in hand, but with her mouth wide open, staring blankly at Rachel. She couldn't tell if this was a good or a bad thing. However, she had been so sure she had done an excellent job, but now she wasn't anymore.

After a couple of minutes Sue finally shut off the camera, closed her mouth and blinked, but still not being able to say a word. Eventually Rachel couldn't take it any longer and spoke up.

"Ms. Sylvester? May I inquire your thoughts on my performance? I believe enough time has passed for you to have decided if I'm good enough to be a Cheerio." Sue arose from her seat and took a couple of steps toward the brunette before taking a breath and telling her judgment.

"Well kiddo, let me tell you this. I am a woman not easily impressed, but take a look at my face..." Sue pointed at her own face, but Rachel couldn't detect anything different with it "... this is what I look like when I am. Don't let this go to your head, but the only one that has impressed me more with a tryout is one miss Quinn Fabray, so yes, you're in." Rachel immediately smiled even wider. "But make one mistake and you will lose that spot faster and harder than you thought even possible. Come to my office thirty minutes before tomorrow's practice to pick up your new uniform, congratulation, you are now a Cheerio." Sue then stopped, a frown appearing on her face.

"What about Glee? What are you going to do about that?" she suddenly inquired, and Rachel quickly replied.

"I will of course continue to be in, and captain, Glee club, but I am also fully committed to the Cheerios, so you have absolutely nothing to worry about." Sue smirked, thinking about William, and how he would react when she told him all this after the Glee club had their practice just before the Cheerios had theirs the next day. Realizing that Rachel was still in the gym her face hardened before the diva had time to blink and then started.

"NOW GET THE HELL AWAY FROM MY FACE YOU DISCUSTING LITTLE MIDGET!" Sue's sudden outburst startled Rachel, but as soon as she realized that she just wanted to show who was in charge and that this tryout, no matter how good it was, wouldn't give Rachel any advantages over her other girls.

Since Rachel wasn't very eager to infuriate her new coach mere seconds after her successful tryout, she quickly backed away and walked though the gym's exit, still with a bright smile on her face. When she walked down the halls of the school, all she could do was think to herself that her life was finally going to change, but she was oblivious to just how much it was going to change, and the impact it would eventually have on her life.

Maybe, ignorance really is bliss...