At 5:30 Ray pulled up to the school and made his way to the gym to watch the end of practice. He watched through the doors until Sue dismissed her cheerleaders and made his way to her office.
"How did you get in here?"
Looking up at his aunt's voice Ray smirked at her. "Becky let me in. Didn't even have to bribe her this time."
Ray chuckled at his aunt's grumbling of how he was being a negative influence on the sweet girl.
"Is it finished?" Sue questioned. At Ray's nod she demanded that he strip.
Carefully removing his jacket and shirt, Ray turned so his aunt could see his back. Sue didn't say anything and when Ray turned to face her, he saw that she had gone into her private bathroom and came out with a large bowl of warm soapy water and a cloth. Sue carefully removed the cellophane that was covering his new ink before gently washing his back for him.
"So how long before you can have a shower?"
"Tonight actually. I just can't let the water spray on it directly for the next week."
Sue made a sound of acknowledgment as she cleaned up the last of the ink stain on his skin. She grabbed a pair of latex gloves and held out her hand for the cream. Wordlessly Ray handed her the small container a little surprised that his aunt knew he would have it on him. Ray let out a small sigh as his aunt gently covered his new tattoo with the cream. It felt so soothing on his angry skin.
"It's beautiful Ray. It definitely tells your story so far."
"I'm glad you like it Auntie."
Sue stood back to take in the beautiful artwork on her Godson's back. He had gotten a phoenix rising from fiery ashes. With in the ashes you could make out the word Berry. Across his shoulders Ray had Sylvester written in old fashioned Script letters that were black with red highlights. The flames were done in gradients of blue and green whereas the phoenix itself was gradients of red, orange and yellow. Ray's artist had managed to make the colours striking against one another where it would normally clash. Berry was filled in with greys and shades of black with a few white highlights with in the rest of the ashes so it was subtle yet not lost with in the rest of the ashes completely. Sue thought the piece was dead accurate of how Ray had risen from the chaos and misery of having been a 'Berry', to him growing and becoming himself as a 'Sylvester'. She was incredibly proud of how strong her God Son was to have walked through that fire and emerged from the ashes of his old life stronger than ever before.
"All right my head cheerleader is waiting for you, put your clothes back on and get out of my office. I'll see you Sunday for our visit with Jean." Sue stated handing back the cream and went to her private bath to clean up the bowl and cloth.
"Thank you Auntie. Love you." Ray called out to her as he left her office in the midst of pulling his shirt down. Quickly making his way back to his truck he only had to wait for a few minutes for Quinn to arrive.
"Hello Gorgeous." Ray greeted as Quinn got closer.
He smiled as he watched the faint blush appear on the blonde's cheeks at his words. It still amazed him that in the short time that they had been together that he could still make her blush with something as simple calling her gorgeous. He knew that others before him had called her pretty and hot, as well as most of the male population still used those words to describe her, but for whatever reason whenever Ray called his girlfriend beautiful or gorgeous, she blushed at his words. It made him feel warm and gooey inside that he could invoke such a reaction.
"Hello yourself handsome." Quinn greeted before giving him a chaste kiss. They both ignored the fake gagging that could be heard from Santana. Ray handed over the latte to Quinn, which earned him another kiss. Brittany cooed at the two before nudging Santana with her elbow before the latina could make a snarky comment.
"Did you see the video Ray?" The bubbly blonde asked.
"Yeah I did Ducky and that shit was hilarious. Did Noah take my suggestion?"
"Yeah he created a fake account and uploaded it to YouTube. It has already gotten over a thousand views." Santana stated gleefully.
"Good. Now the rest of the school can see that the Golden boy isn't so golden. Guaranteed that at tomorrow mornings glee practice he will have whined to Schuster and there will be a speech about how disappointed he is and that we are supposed to be a team and all that crap. 10 to 1 says Finn will blame me for it and I wasn't even at practice." Ray mused to himself for a moment before continuing. "So, how did he take it that I'm the new quarterback and Captain of the football team?"
"Frankenteen lost his mind. All he did was whine to anyone who would listen and when he wasn't getting the attention he wanted he kicked over a few chairs and music stands."
"The poor furniture. Should be interesting tomorrow." Ray smirked.
"Anyway Q, what time is dinner?"
"At 7 S so that means whatever lady lovin you and B are planning has to be quick if you want any dinner. Mom stated that if you two weren't there on time, you and I quote 'gets no grub'."
Ray laughed softly at the horrified look on the fiery cheerleaders face as Brittany proceeded to tell Santana that their sweet lady kisses would have to wait. Quinn leaned back against him as his arms circled around her waist, drinking her latte as the two of them watched Santana try to convince Brittany that they could be quick. Brittany held her ground and that left the latina pouting. Ray leaned his head down and softly kissed Quinn's neck before suggesting that they get going as it was already after 6. Quinn quickly agreed and the four friends quickly got in their vehicles and left.
45 minutes later found the 4 friends sitting in Quinn's living room still laughing about the events in Glee while Judy was putting the finishing touches on dinner.
"So Ray," Santana began, "Where the hell did you disappear to this afternoon. And don't say it was for your hair because it didn't take all afternoon to get those red and black streaks put in."
"I got some ink done. Advantage of being emancipated, don't need an adult's permission to get it done." Ray replied nonchalantly.
"Bullshit." Santana stated immediately.
Ray just looked at his friend as amusement danced in his eyes and said nothing.
"Holy shit, you're not kidding." Santana exclaimed.
"Nope." Ray replied popping the 'p'.
"Seriously Baby? You got a tattoo?" Quinn asked softly before demanding; "Show us" at Ray's nod.
Once again Ray found himself stripping off his shirt for the second time that day. He listened as the three friends oohed and ahhed over the design. Brittany demanded the cream as she noticed that his skin was already starting to dry out again. Ray told her that it was in his jacket pocket in the foyer. Brittany bounced out to get the cream and was back seconds later. She quickly applied it to his back and muttering apologies whenever he flinched at tender spots. Quinn was busy ogling her boyfriends physique that she didn't hear her mother come into the room.
"Quinnie, why is your boyfriend half naked in our living room?"
Quinn and Ray both blushed to the tips of their ears as Santana cackled at their embarrassment.
"Ray was showing us his new tattoo mom."
Ray wordlessly turned around to show the older Fabray his ink.
"It's beautiful Ray, Stunning really." Judy complimented before smirking. "Now put your clothes back on before Quinn drools all over the furniture. Dinner is ready."
"Mom!" Quinn squeaked out in mortification.
Ray laughed softly as he put his shirt back on then wrapped his arms around his girlfriend.
"Baby, I love how you react to my body. And you know that you render me speechless with your beauty." Ray whispered in her ear before placing a kiss on her temple.
Shaking her head, Quinn smiled softly and lead her boyfriend into the dinning room for dinner.
Dinner was filled with laughter over the events that had happened earlier that day, and congratulations to Ray for making the football team and being named Captain. Towards the end of dinner, both Quinn and her mom noticed how quiet Ray had become. He was currently sweating and seemed to have a slight tremble.
"Ray, honey are you ok?" Judy asked in concern.
"Hmm? Oh yeah Judy I'm fine. I think my system is finally going into shock now that I have stopped moving and the pain meds have worn off."
Quinn shook her head at Ray's casual response and looked over at her mom. Mother and daughter had a silent but brief conversation before Judy turned her attention back to Ray.
"Alright then, Ray you are spending the night here. Personally I would feel better if you stayed here just incase anything happens. Otherwise Quinnie here will be at your house for the night and if anything happens, she will be calling me anyway."
Too tired and sore to argue Ray nodded and quietly thanked the older Fabray. Quinn left the table under the guise of going to the washroom, when she came back she dropped a painkiller into Ray's hand and was shocked that she didn't have to bug him to take it when he immediately swallowed the pill without complaint. Judy quickly served Ray dessert once she noticed that he seemed to have finished eating. She wrapped his left overs incase he became hungry later that night and if not she would send it to school with him the next day.
"I know you're tired Ray, but eat the small bowl of pudding, it will help to raise your sugar levels and help with the shock your body is going through."
Ray nodded and thanked Judy before eating the small slice of pie and scoop of ice cream she had sat in front of him along with the pudding, while the others were finishing their dinner. Once finished Ray politely excused himself and went to Quinn's room and changed his clothes before promptly passing out on his girlfriend's bed.
Downstairs the three friends were quietly finishing their deserts as Judy was washing up the dinner dishes.
"Do you think the hobbit will be ok?" Santana finally blurted out
"He will be fine in the morning. Tender but fine. His system, as he said during dinner, just finally went into shock as his back is essentially a giant wound until it has completely scabbed over." Brittany answered.
"Ok topic change," Santana began ignoring Quinn's smirk "Has Puck convinced Ray to perform Unchained in Glee yet?"
"I think after tomorrow morning's practice Ray will be singing it after school. As soon as the practice starts you know that both Finn and Mercedes will be throwing shade at Ray, blaming him for the video when he wasn't even present for Finns horrible dancing." Quinn replied.
"I bet it will happen right after they start in on him tomorrow morning. He has had enough of their drama. His fuse is going to be shorter as his ink heals for the next few days. We all know Ray holds back and hides when something is bothering him, his therapist has been encouraging him to vent and not bottle it up anymore." Brittany quietly voiced, before continuing.
"He has journals filled with just his frustrations and things he wishes he had said. His biggest obstacle at the moment is his rage at the Berry men and the lingering resentment from the years of being a victim of bullying. Those two things are very interconnected in his mind currently. If those...men, hadn't forced Ray to take the suppressants and just accepted him as he was from birth, he may not have gone through such torment for just being him."
The three friends sat in silence for awhile as the weight of the normally bubbly blonde's words sunk in.
"Well let's go practice our backup harmony for Unchained just in case." Quinn suggested. Santana and Brittany nodded in agreeance and followed their Captain to the basement.
The music was loud as Puck and Ray danced to Ice Cube's you can do it as they warmed up in the auditorium before 'booty camp' started. Brittany skipped her way over and effortlessly joined into the hip-hop routine the two friends had started, the trio was soon joined by Mike while the rest of the club watched and talked amongst themselves as they waited for Mr. Shue to show up. Quinn and Santana had noticed that Finn wasnt in the auditorium yet as well. That just confirmed their thoughts that he was whining to Mr. Shue about the video that had been posted.
The beat changed to something a little sexier and the two cheerleaders watched as the three friends began to sing and dance to Full Service by NKOTB. Both Brittany and Quinn noticed when Ray tried to hide a wince a few times. Shortly after Mr Shue walked in trailed after by Finn. Once the man had the clubs attention, just as Ray had predicted, he began a speech about how the club was supposed to be a family and should treat each other as such. Ray didn't bother to hold back his snort.
"Something funny Ray?" Shue asked.
"Yeah, your hypocrisy. Whenever anyone in this club would right out bully me in this club, in front of you, you said and did nothing time and time again you failed to do your job. But now its Finn who has some mild embarrassment from a video of his dancing, well his attempt to dance was uploaded, which i might remind you of all the fucking videos of me being slushied are uploaded as well, now you want to suddenly do your job and say we are family? Yeah i find that hilarious." Ray got up from his seat and stood in front of the microphone.
"You know what, here's a song for the haters in this club. Listen closely to the lyrics."
I have the right to remain violent,
Anything you say will be used to silence
So shut the fuck up! With your BLAH! BLAH! BLAH!
Rip your face off like Texas chainsaw
Born into a world! That was turned against me
I turned into something they never thought I'd be
Fuck all this fame,
You can have it back peace
Put my middle finger up, 'cause you don't own me
You try to say you're sorry for things you've done
Try to play me like a fool but I know I'm not one
Try to entrap me with your lies and accusations
Fuck you bitch! I'm the freak of the nation
Here's a bag of dicks, no one gives a shit (Ray makes like he is handing Finn a bag)
Go and run your mouth, take a knife to your clit (Ray pointed at Mercedes, as the diva looked shocked at the choice of words)
If you're talking garbage, making my name tarnished
Put my rep and bondage, rip it up like carnage
I'm unchained! Insane in the membrane
I'm on top of the motherfucking food chain!
I'm so high they can't find a tree for me to hang
I'm on a mission and I'm looking for some po tang
I'm cutting free from these shackles and all these chains
Cut me loose from this noose, I need some Mary Jane
Drop the crane on the haters to end my pain
So I can drain all my bad blood in vein
Down and broken bound by lock and key
Shamed for who I am, Modern slavery
Revenge will have its day, I serve no one but me
Let these chains fall away I've been finally set free
I got this way just being me
And now screaming fans are all I see
I'm not afraid
I'm not ashamed
I'm not your slave
Baby, I'm unchained!
I'm having a REBELation
With your mainstream fabrication
'Cause I wasn't born in a manger
I was born in this nation
I'm not a gift from god
And certainly not a spawn of Satan
But this dream I'll keep chasing
For as long as you hating
No white flag will be waving
'Cause the shit that you're saying
I'm a ticking time bomb
Just waiting to go off
I'm the motherfucking trigger finger
On the hand of god
I'll force feed you needles
Whether you hate me or not
I'm vicious and I'm young
And I can't be stopped
You can try to lock me up
You can put me in a cage
But this lion you see
Will never be tamed
'Cause I've been crazy since
I dropped out the ninth grade
With vacations to the looney bin
Before I was of age
I got beat the down running home
On the first day
Teacher told me to wipe (Ray pointed to Mr. Shue)
That evil smile off my damn face
I laughed then 'cause I knew
This would be the last time I cave
And I never went back after that day
I moved on, got strong
I even changed my fucking name
Well, I may be "Ray Sylvester" now
But "Rae Berry" is where I came
So give me the blame
And break my chains
I never said I wanted fame
I'll do what I can to make a change
But I'm not your slave, baby
I'm unchained
I got this way just being me
And now screaming fans are all I see
I'm not afraid
I'm not ashamed
I'm not your slave
Baby, I'm unchained!
You can lock me in a cage
You can lock me in a cage
But I'll break free with my rage
But I'll break free with my fucking rage
You can't hold me fucking down
You can't hold me fucking down
Like Dillinger, I'll break out
Like Dillinger, I am fucking breaking out
I got this way just being me
And now screaming fans are all I see
I'm not afraid,
I'm not ashamed
I'm not your slave,
Baby, I'm unchained
Puck and the Unholy Trinity had provided backing vocals and harmony where needed. They were all familiar with the song as Ray would blare the song when he was in a mood after having dealt with Finn and Mercedes during Glee. Puck had been trying to talk his best friend into singing the song for a few weeks when the three cheerleaders finally jumped on the bandwagon and convinced Ray that he should sing it the next time Finn and the diva started in and talking shit during Glee and he was glad that they had. Ray felt so much better. He left the auditorium and went to his Aunts office leaving everyone aside from Puck and the Unholy Trinity speechless.