A.N: Hey y'all! Sorry for the few day wait; finals. :( Anyway, this chapter is defintely not the best; it's mainly a filler (as will be the next one) until we get to the good stuff. It's rushed, and the writings not great, and I have no excuse other than I'm a college student and it's finals time. Forgive me?
By the way: YOU GUYS ROCK! Holy crap, over 800 hits in the first 6 hours, and a bunch of alearts and reviews...damn! I love you too! And don't worry, this chapter isn't as much of a downer, I'm sure you'll be Happy to hear :)
I also forgot to mention last time that all mistakes are mine; I don't have a beta (and I don't really want one, no offense, so please don't offer) and I'm working with Microsoft Word as my spell check. If you see any grevious mistakes, please let me know and I'll correct it as soon as possible.

Finally, I'm SOOOO sorry for all of that crappy confusion with the story the first dat. I think FF was on the fritz or something; I had to upload the prologue again, so if y'all got a chap 2 update, that was totally my fault. Anyway, thanks so much for your support. ENJOY

OH WAIT Another thing:: I will be changing the pairing every couple of chapters! As a faberittana shipper, I know I only surf a few pairings, and I'm probably missing some great stories, but I'm going to whore this story out to all of the pairings I can so I can get as many converts...ahem...I mean readers as possible. So if all of a sudden the pairing changes, don't freak. I'm being an attention whore. :D

Disclaimer: see prologue.

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Chapter 1: Hello Angel

September 2009

Junior Year. Rachel smiled inwardly as she sat down for first period. Only two years of high school left; well, less if you were Rachel Berry. She only had a year and a half of hell at home until she could escape, legally, as an adult.

Rachel had been taking as many extra periods and AP classes as she could so she could graduate early, and by god she would. She was set to receive her GED just before Christmas break, 2010. Just before her 18th birthday. She had everything planned. She'd been saving spare change since she was 9, and had enough for at least a bus ticket to New York, maybe enough for a night or two at a hostel. From there, she would sing on street corners and in central park, anywhere really, just like she and…just like she used to. Until she had enough money to stay in a shelter, maybe take a few singing classes. Anything to get noticed; anything to achieve their dreams, her dreams.

She had only one regret; leaving the loves of her life behind. She knew they didn't think much of her. In the last year though, with Glee, she'd gotten to know them even better, and loved them even more. She'd even befriended them somewhat…sometimes.

Somehow, at 17, Rachel knew that they were her forever. She would never love anyone else as she loved them, but she knew that she would never be enough for any one of them…let alone all three of them.

Santana Lopez reminded her most of her sister. So protective, so fierce on the outside. So many feared her; said she had no heart, called her cold, a bitch. But Rachel remembered Santana before they all had entered high school, remembered that shy, sweet smile, that gently wave of her hand every time they saw each other. Rachel remembered the last day she had seen that look directed at her; it was the 2nd week of freshman year, the first day Santana had put on the Cheerio's uniform. The first day she had watched Rachel be slushied, and done nothing about it.

Rachel wasn't mad, she understood. But there was a sadness in Santana's eyes that day she would never forget.

She still saw that look on Santana's face, mostly when she was talking to Brittney, sometimes with Quinn, and every time Rachel saw it, her heart fluttered and her body warmed.

Brittany Peirce was the sweetest girl she had ever met. She was very misunderstood; people thought she was stupid, a vain, vapid blonde, but nothing could be further from the truth. Rachel could see past the veil that very few others could; Brittany just preferred to live in a different world than everyone else. She lived in a world where everyone was always happy; no one hated each other, there were plenty of hugs (and ducks, of course), people were good inside and smiles were a requirement (and math was just an unpleasant thought).

Of course, she didn't – and couldn't – live in this world all of the time; she'd learned that along with Santana and Quinn when they started high school. But Brittany preferred to try and see the good in everyone, even if she had to do some slightly mean things to stay with her friends every once in a while.

All of this made Rachel want to protect Brittany with everything she had, and she knew Santana and Quinn were the same. The tall blonde was a wise, but innocently gentle soul, and those who didn't see that were close to vermin in Rachel's book.

And finally, was Quinn Fabray. She was the leader of the threesome, and in some ways Rachel felt like they were on the most even keel. Santana was the Protector, Brittany the innocent, or protected, and Quinn was the middle ground.

Quinn was also the girl who seemed to hate her most.

She always blew hot and cold when it came to Rachel; one day (or week, depending on her mood) she would be friendly (or at least polite) and accepting of platonic advances on Rachel's part. The next day (or, again, week) she would be ordering slushie facials left and right, throwing out vicious insults (more vicious that usual) and all around being as cruel as she could be.

Rachel strongly suspected Quinn had a mild form of Bipolar disorder. She didn't really mind however. She'd heard through the rumor mill that Quinn's family was highly religious and not the good kind either. She was probably under a lot of pressure at home, and released her pent up energy at school, on hapless victims and on the football field during cheerleading practice.

Rachel knew that Quinn just needed a chance to shine, to be set free, and once she was she would fly so high no one could catch her unless she wanted them too.

They were all so different, yet similar too.

So she would leave them be next year, when she set out on her own. Maybe she'd leave them a letter; that was one area that she hadn't completely planned out yet. She would grieve their loss, she knew. She would feel the emptiness in her chest; her heart from the moment she was born had been cut into 4 pieces. One was already gone, and the other three she was giving up.

But she would survive. She had to. She'd survived all these years, and she wasn't giving up now. She would achieve the goals she had set, be content, die a spinster cat lady. And she was ok with that. She really, truly was.

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End of Chapter A.N: Well, there you have it. Like I said, not the best chapter or writing, but I promise I'll make it up to you. Thanks for reading, guys!