As this is an AU, there will be a lot of characters who will be OOC, and then there are some who will be exactly the same.

Next chapter, the Glee Club makes an unexpected appearance.

-RCV

"You look like a stripper."

Rachel glanced at Sue standing off to the side, the nightmare of a coach pouring coffee into her mug, and she said, "Thanks."

"How long are you back?"

"Until I graduate."

"Why?"

Though she expected the question, Rachel was still unable to form a proper response. She wanted to lie, but Sue would see through it. She wanted to be vague, but Sue would keep pressing. So, she decided to tell the truth.

"I have unfinished business here."

Sue raised an eyebrow as she sat down behind her desk. "Does this business have four legs, four arms, and an unhealthy amount of anger coursing through its veins?" she asked.

"What? No. Seriously?"

"You were quite obvious, but if they're not the sole reason you returned, what is?"

"As much as I loved Seattle, Lima, in all its fucked-up glory, is home. I felt like I was running if I stayed away."

"You made a mistake, Rachel, but that doesn't mean you can't bounce back from it."

The sincerity in Sue's voice caught Rachel off guard, and that was before she realized Sue knew about what happened. That time, she did ask how she knew.

"I have a connection in the police force here who likes to talk when he gets drunk. He stumbled across me while I was out getting dinner for me and my partner. He figured since you went to school here, that I would know you. He told me what happened. Then, a week later, you transferred. It took me three days to fully come to terms with what I learned, but by that time, you were gone."

Rachel sighed as she sat down. "I did not attack him without cause."

"I know."

Rachel gave a short nod and started chewing on her lip. The group sat in silence for all of thirty seconds before Sue gave in and asked, "Who are the extras with you? The reject Misfit wannabes?"

"You're one to talk," LJ scoffed. "You look like the main character in a lesbian porno."

"LJ!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Don't worry. I wasn't offended. I actually thought it was pretty average for someone of his track record."

LJ narrowed his eyes and asked, "What are you talking about?"

Sue smiled and gestured to the folders on her desk. She said, "I know who you are, smart one. I always do my research on the new students. I reached out to a colleague in the Washington school system and asked him for a little information on you two. I even had him send me over your files, Rachel, so I can see if you were just as annoying there as you were here. Boy was I shocked."

She picked up the closest folder, opened it, and began to read, "Leroy Michael Berry Junior. An immensely, talented student with the potential to do great things. Intelligent, brilliant with numbers, and a scientific prodigy. Knowledgeable about concepts and theories that most students don't learn until their last year of college. The administration thought about offering you dual-enrollment, but behavioral issues prevented any further advancement. I have a quote here from one of your teachers that called you a genius with the potential to kill off mankind."

Rachel closed her eyes and sunk down in her seat. LJ smiled and said nothing.

Picking up the second folder, Sue cleared her throat, and said, "Victoria Giselle Berry. A beyond gifted student in any subject that she studies. A prodigy in classical piano and violin. Your swim coach believed you could receive a Division 1 scholarship to any school in the country, and be on your way to the Olympics, but behavioral issues cause scouts and college coaches a reason to hesitate. One of your teachers called you a cold-hearted, apathetic bitch who had no concern for anyone but herself. Others said that you had your head so far up your ass that you couldn't even smell your own shit. I personally liked that line."

Tori barely batted an eye at the comments, choosing to stare blankly at the spot between Sue's eyes. Rachel rubbed her temples. She knew her siblings were...temperamental...but she had hoped it would stay in Lima. Then she remembered Sue had a file about her. Rachel dropped her hands and stared at Sue as she picked up the final folder.

"This last file, I must say, truly caught me off-guard. Should I ask around this school, I would get very different answers about one, Rachel Barbra Berry." Sue smiled before she continued, "Rachel is an average student with the potential to be labeled gifted. Purposely does enough to pass the class but clearly shows a complete understanding of the subject. Did not fully participate in any clubs. One of your teachers says he caught you singing in the auditorium after hours and was blown away by the strength of your voice. When he offered you a lead solo in the upcoming musical, you gave him the finger and told him to go suck himself."

Rachel remembered that. She winced and elbowed LJ when he started to snicker.

"The administration highly believed you were suffering from some form of trauma, as when you arrived, they monitored you and discovered that despite the reports from McKinley, you were withdrawn, unmotivated, and disinterested. Spent too much time with her siblings and not enough time at school. Often caught skipping classes and leaving school premises during school hours. Counselors believed you were uncaring about your future with no clear path selected for after high school. One teacher is quoted as saying Rachel is an enigma. Not angry, but not happy. Not quiet, but not loud. She has her brother's gifts, but her sister's communication skills."

Sue started chuckling and had to shake her head for a moment, giving pause to the conversation. Rachel let her laugh, and when the woman collected herself, she finished reading, "And this one, this is one is what caught me off guard. Another teacher called you a loser who would end up homeless or in jail."

The woman started laughing again, harder, and LJ shot forward in his seat.

"I don't see what's so funny about that, you-

Rachel placed her hand on LJ's arm and shook her head. "That's not what she's laughing at," she said.

"Huh?"

"She's laughing at the difference between the me from that school and the me from this school. She was right when she said if she were to ask anyone here about me, then that file would read completely different. I was the most annoying student here a year ago. I was loud, obnoxious, irritating, and I joined every club because I wanted to be in every picture in the yearbook. I did extra credit, tutoring, AP classes, and was always the first one in the classroom. I never got in trouble, never got suspended or sent to the principal's office, and I never had any real friends. People only tolerated me because I did their homework. That's what she's laughing at."

"You had AP classes?" Tori asked. "You? The person who does her homework at the very last minute? The person that literally reads the front page and the back page of a book and bullshits her way through a research paper?"

"Or the person that never came to school with a backpack? Only a pencil, a notebook, and a pack of gum?" LJ said.

Rachel groaned and said, "The point is, I was different here, and I imagine some people aren't going to let me forget that."

"You would be correct," Sue chimed in. "When William discovered you were coming back, he was almost disgustingly happy."

"I'm not rejoining Glee," Rachel said sharply.

"I figured, but they don't and won't accept that. I'm the only one with access to these files. They have no idea who you are anymore. I was going to show them this file, but I would rather watch the show."

Rachel ignored the last part and said, "I just want to graduate and move on from here."

Sue, sighed, stood up from her chair and walked around her desk. She sat down on the edge in front of them and said quietly, "I will be candid with you Rachel. The moment you walk out of that door and go back into that hallway, you will not be able to have that quiet, withdrawn life that you were used to in Seattle. They will treat you the same as they did before and your response will determine whether you have changed or if you are the same person. All jokes aside, I am happy that you are back, I really am, but I will be the first to tell you that this will be the hardest year of your life. You will not be the same Lima reject that you were when you left. You will be the Lima idiot who came back, and because some of them can't fathom why you would return, they will make you wish you hadn't. Be careful, and despite what you think, I do want you to succeed here. You are way too talented to let a mistake like that cost you your life. If you need me, my door is always open. Okay?"

Rachel blinked and stammered, "I-uh, sure? What- I'm confused. Why are you being nice to me?"

Sue smirked and stood up, walking over to the door. "I promised Leroy I would look out for you three. I was one of the few people he called for late night drinks when he couldn't handle not having you around. I heard many things about you from him, things I'm sure he would never tell me if he were sober."

Rachel tensed and cleared her throat, "I see. Well, thanks."

"You're welcome. Like I said, come to me if you need anything. I will say that I managed to score you and your siblings some tour guides and bodyguards for the day."

The look and smile on Sue's face made Rachel pause, and her heart dropped into her stomach as she said, "You didn't."

Sue didn't respond. Instead, she opened the door to reveal Santana and Quinn hunched over each other, whispering and gesturing widely. When Sue coughed, the two popped up and wore matching sheepish looks on their faces.

"Hey, Coach. We're here to take those new students around for the day," Quinn said, her eyes darting into the room.

"Glad to see you two haven't lost your sense of punctuality. Lopez, Fabray, this is Leroy and Victoria Berry," Sue said, gesturing to the two closest to Rachel.

"It's LJ."

"And I'm Tori."

Sue then pointed directly at Rachel and said, "And I'm sure you remember the short one in the middle."

"You already know my name. Though I remember you two making plenty nicknames for me the last time I was here."

Sue ushered them out of her office, and before the door closed, she gave them a slight wave and told Rachel, "Remember what I said. No matter what."

Rachel nodded and followed the group down the halls. So far, McKinley looked the same, but the people inside were not.

"Coach gave us your schedules, and it seems like we all pretty much share the same classes."

"Of course, we do," Rachel sighed.

"What was that, Berry?" Santana said.

"I said of course we do," she repeated.

Santana seemed shocked at the response, but she recovered quickly. "If I were you, Berry, I would watch that tone of yours."

Rachel, already annoyed with the attitude, stopped walking and rubbed her eyes. "Look, we're not doing this. Okay? We're just not. I'm not going to whimper and cowl just because you want me too. I'm also not going to be afraid of an ice bath so should you two have one planned for my siblings and me as some welcome back surprise, I highly suggest you cancel it and just let us get through this school year on our own. It's not like we need the tour guide anyway. I know where the damn classes are."

"Coach asked us to do it, so we're going to do it," Quinn said slowly. "As for the other things-

"Who do you think you are?" Santana interrupted, stepping into Rachel's personal space.

Quinn sighed. "San, let it go," she said.

"Yeah, San, let it go," Rachel said mockingly, though part of her was hurt Santana reverted back to old habits. She added in a cold voice, "I am not the same scared little girl you bullied every day because she was obviously stronger and less closeted than you. So, you either get out of my face, hand me our schedules, and go about your merry way, or treat me like a decent human being and be the nice little tour guide Coach Sue asked you to be."

Santana's eyes darkened, but she said nothing. Rachel then scoffed, stepping to the side to talk to Quinn directly.

"My siblings are capable of continuing this on their own. Do you mind showing them around? I'll meet up with everyone later. Don't really need to do the homeroom thing again," she said.

"Uh, s-sure," Quinn stammered, glancing at the back of Santana's head.

"Thanks." Rachel turned to her siblings and added, "See you later?"

"Naturally," Tori said.

Taking that for what it was, Rachel walked around Santana and continued down the hall. She trusted LJ and Tori to be able to take care of themselves with the madness that would follow soon, but she did not trust herself. Not yet. Knowing there was really only one place she could hide out and not get caught, Rachel detoured down a familiar hallway and tried to calm her racing heart. Having Santana so close, vanilla and cinnamon attacking her senses, nearly made her forget the rules she'd established for herself. Remembering that she would inevitably see Santana and Quinn later, Rachel's shoulders hunched forward.

Damn.