There For You
Chapter 1: Homeless
A/N: Hey, so decided to spice things up a bit and add a second story. And yes, I do write about things that aren't all fairies and butterflies, so deal with it, haha. Anyways, first chapter's short, un-beta'd. I'll ask my beta later to see if she'll edit for me, but I figures, it's the first chapter, so hey. I didn't read through it when I finished, so beware, it's probably full of mistakes. Next chapter will be longer, promise. (Maybe…) Oh, and in this story, Quinn never went through that Goth stage :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee in any way, shape or form.
Warning: None. May change later, may not.
Summary: Rachel's living on the streets, homeless. So who does she turn to for help? No one, of course. But Quinn can't help but notice anyway. Possible Faberry relationship? Slight PezBerry friendship.
"Dad! Daddy! I'm home!" Rachel yelled, echoing throughout the extremely large house. She carelessly threw her bag on the sofa before entering the kitchen to prepare herself an after-school snack, only to find her fathers sitting across from each other at their kitchen table, seemingly lost deeply in a conversation.
As they became aware of the unexpected presence, they simultaneously turned to face Rachel, with matching serious expressions on their faces. Rachel couldn't really explain, but she had immediately developed this sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"Dad? Is everything alright?"
"Rachel, take a seat." Leroy, Rachel's much taller and more masculine father, motioned towards the empty chair.
Rachel gulped and reluctantly sat down.
Ever since she had turned 15, he parents had started acting… strange. They were never home anymore, and when they were, they hardly ever talked. And right now, the brunette had an odd feeling their relationship was right about to take a hard hit.
"Is… something wrong?" the diva asked in a drawn out voice.
Hiram, her much shorter spectacled father, pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath, "I don't know how to say this," he muttered quietly under his breath. He sat up straight and adjusted his glasses before looking Rachel directly in the eyes. "Rachel, we're moving."
Rachel sat stock still for a moment, before a broad grin spread over her features.
"Are you serious? When? Where? Why haven't you told me before now? Does this mean I get to transfer schools?"
Leroy laid a firm hand on Rachel's shoulder before she could continue. "Rach, we're not finished yet." He rubbed his hands together and sighed, before looking down at Rachel with an unreadable expression. "We only have two plane tickets."
And, there was that sinking feeling again.
The tension in the room was so thick, you could almost taste it, and Rachel almost instantly deflated.
"Wh-what do you mean only two tickets? There are three of us."
"I'm sorry Rachel, we're moving to LA."
At that one particular moment in time, Rachel Barbara Berry felt her entire world slow, before completely collapsing around her.
"What about the house?" she asked in a surprisingly steady voice.
Her two fathers exchanged glances before returning their stares to the oddly calm girl.
"We're selling it, to help pay for our condo."
"Where am I supposed to go?" Any other parent's heart would have broken at the crack in her voice, or the sight of their daughter's tear filled eyes, but Leroy and Hiram had simply brushed it off, as if it were nothing.
"I'm sure you can stay with a friend or something. I mean, you are almost 17, right? You're more than capable of managing on your own."
The brunette nodded numbly, nervously switching her vision between the two men.
"Wh-when do I have to leave?"
"Well, the realtor will be in early tomorrow morning, so-"
"I'll be out by tonight." The brunette cut off curtly, abruptly standing up and practically running up to her room.
When the diva had entered her room, she had practically slammed the door shut behind her, before throwing herself onto her bed. The dam that had been holding back the tears for the past twenty minutes finally burst as she curled into a ball with a sob. It seemed as of the reality of it all had finally come crashing down on her.
Her fathers.
Her very own fathers had just kicked her out. For no good reason.
And they had the audacity to sit her down and talk it out, like it was no big deal. Honestly, it would've hurt less to have slammed the door in her face.
In their defense, they had never really had a good relationship, and she probably should've known it was going to happen eventually, but that doesn't mean it still doesn't hurt like a bitch.
She wiped at the tears falling down her cheeks, before forcing herself to sit up. She chanced a glance around her room. She needed something to distract her; she could deal with the pain later. She couldn't show vulnerability now, she had to be strong.
What was she possibly going to pack?
She threw herself into packing everything she needed, she put as much effort into it as she could, trying as hard as she could to temporarily block out the hurt.
She stuffed her bag as full as she could, and when it all wouldn't fit, she took everything out and re-packed it. She repeated this process six times.
When she was finally satisfied with the contents of her backpack, she put on her best strong face, and stormed down the stairs, making a bee line for the front door.
She was so close, so close to victory, when a hand on her shoulder brought her to a sudden halt. A firm grasp spun her around, and in the blink of an eye, five hundreds were placed in her hand. She looked up to meet the pitiful gaze of her shorter father, Hiram.
"You know, just to get you started," he offered kindly.
Rachel inspected the money handed to her, before scowling and throwing it to the floor.
"I don't want your money," she growled venomously, turning to execute a perfect diva storm out. Only, this was different than her usual diva fit.
This was permanent.
After a long, grueling trek in the cold, Lima weather, Rachel had finally made it to the park. And to the say the least, Rachel was exhausted. Emotionally and physically. She plopped herself down on the nearest park bench, and dropped her bag beside her. She brought her knees to her chest, and wrapped her arms around herself, partly for warmth, and partly for the comfort it provided.
She took a deep, shaky breath and let her eyes slip clothes. She didn't fall asleep, but she wasn't fully awake either. It was more like a catatonic state. She wasn't aware, but she wasn't completely unaware.
That's why she was taken by complete and utter surprise when someone had jerked her back to reality.
"Berry? Berry! HEY! Wake up!" the brunette groaned. She felt unfamiliar warmth next to her, and shuddered as she became aware of the cold winter air on her bare arms. She instinctively leaned into the welcoming warm body beside her, only to have it jerk away from her. "Okay Manhands, two things, one, get the hell off of me, and two, GET UP!"
Rachel groggily lifted her head to face the figure to her right, only to be met with the blonde Queen Bee of McKinley herself. Quinn Fabray.
"Q-Q-Quinn?" she stuttered. "W-what are you d-doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing," the cheerleader shot back, her HBIC eyebrow raised to perfection, "I could also ask you why you're wearing a t-shirt and a short skirt when it's 30 degrees out here. Are you crazy or something?"
As if Rachel wasn't surprised enough by Quinn's seemingly genuine concern, the blonde removed her own jacket and draped it over the brunettes shoulder. If anyone from school would've seen the two "enemies" right now, they would be struck speechless.
"Y-you'll f-freeze," Rachel argued weakly, as she made to take off the undeniably warm coat, but gloved hands stopped her own.
"Relax, I've got another coat on underneath. I may not like you, but that doesn't mean I want you to catch hypothermia. Plus, I'm not dumb enough to wear a skirt in the middle of winter, in Ohio." The blonde carefully studied Rachel's face as the brunettes violent shivering began to calm, "now what are you doing here?"
"I-I, uhm…" Rachel racked her brain for an appropriate answer; she definitely couldn't tell the girl who tortured her for years that she was just kicked out, homeless, living on the streets. "My a-aunts coming to p-pick me up," she answered nervously, "my p-parents left for a business t-trip, so I'm s-staying with her for a few w-weeks."
Quinn nodded her head, before shifting her gaze to the frozen duck pond.
"Well, next time dress appropriately, would you?" Rachel nodded dumbly, as she curiously stared at the other girl.
"What are you doing here?"
Quinn's eyes snapped back to the singer, and a soft smile graced her slightly chapped lips.
"I love this place; it's so calming, and peaceful. Especially during the winter. It's like my secret getaway." She tilted her head upwards and watched the clouds pass, "but if you tell anyone, I'll deny everything, Berry."
Rachel took this moment to just relax, she let her eyes slip shut, and found herself on the brink of dozing off. She was on the verge of unconsciousness yet again, as Quinn gently nudged her in the side.
"Hey, don't fall asleep on me Berry." Rachel moaned as she rested her head in her hands.
Quinn offered a peculiar stare at the brunette, before checking her phone and standing up.
"I should probably get going; my mom's probably expecting me home soon. Just return the jacket tomorrow, okay? And again, tell anyone about this and I'll make you life hell." The blonde gave a short wave, before turning and walking down the path towards the parking lot.
Once Quinn had left, Rachel sighed. She dug through her backpack, producing a thin blanket. It was already late, probably around 10 pm. She wrapped the blanket around herself, lying down across the hard, cold park bench. It didn't offer much warmth, but for right now, it was all she had.
The next morning, Rachel woke up freezing and sore. She whimpered softly as she sat up, her back ached from the hard wood of the bench, and her head pounded from the cold. She slowly forced herself to her feet, shouldering her bag and painfully trotting to the nearest public restroom. She brushed her teeth, brushed her hair, and dusted off her clothing before re-entering the harsh snowy weather.
She mentally debated on whether or not she should go to school, but the end she decided that she was Rachel Berry. And Rachel Berry doesn't miss school for anything. She was going to put on her trademark smile, and walk through the halls as if everything was peachy, even if she was slowly breaking inside.
No one would have to know, she would just carry on her normal life. She would keep her head held high, maintain straight A's, win that scholarship to NYADA, and she was going to do it all by herself.
Self-accomplishment.
She was Rachel Barbara Berry. She can do this.
A/N2: So, here's the start of this story, not my best work, I can tell. :/ so I just have one question for you guys, because I haven't even decided yet. Faberry relationship or friendship? I can write either, whichever is more widely chosen I guess :) So, review, even if it's terrible. Which I'm pretty sure it is XD.