There's Always Tomorrow

By: Meredith Richardson

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any of the characters that Ryan Murphy came up with.

Summary: Rachel thought her life was over the day Finn broke up with her in the school hallway… she was wrong. This is the story of a girl that learns there's more to life than boys and singing on Broadway.

Time Line: Takes place right after Glee S2E9 (Special Education) things will go a little AU from there J

AN: This is the second story I've ever written so please let me know what you think. It's a little rough around the edges but I started rewatching Glee this summer, waiting like everyone for Glee Season 4 (woot) and I had to share.

AN2: Thank you so much BurningCrashingRaining for dealing with my constant story changes and endless edits. You've really motivated me to keep writing this story after I got discouraged and couldn't think of anything to write. Thank you to all the people that are now following my story it means a lot to me. I hope you enjoy this new chapter.

Chapter 3: Confrontation

The afternoon was starting to look up for Rachel. She had been able to avoid running into the rest of glee club, who would no doubt grill her about her breakup, and had been lucky enough to stay clear of Finn. She didn't think she was strong enough to deal with him without running away in tears. The pain of his betrayal and their separation was still too near to her heart. And that's what she thought of it as, a betrayal. She knew she had made a bad decision in kissing Puck. Finn was still very touchy after what he did with Quinn, but he had betrayed in her so many ways. He had slept with the girl who had made her life a living hell since the beginning of high school. She understood that it had happened when they weren't in a relationship but it still hurt. And to have to hear it from Santana of all people? Why couldn't Finn just tell her the truth? Santana went out of her way to make Rachel's life a living hell, had used their relations as one more way to break Rachel Berry. Santana had always been there, in the background doing everything in her power to crush her. She had thrown slushies in her face numerous times, and when that wasn't enough she talked others into doing the same. Rachel had been forced to always carry an additional set of clothes because of it. It only got worse after Santana joined Glee Club. It was the one place that Rachel felt like she could be herself, the one place that she was safe in this school and all that changed in an instant. Not only did Rachel have to deal with Quinn and her accusations about Finn last year, but now Santana was always there to tear her down. Anytime Rachel did something that her fellow Glee Clumbers disliked, Santana was there to egg them on. She'd ridiculed Rachel about her relationship with Jesse when she'd been heartbroken about his betrayal. No one had said anything to contradict her or done anything to make her feel better.

There was no way to describe how hurt she was, to learn that she couldn't trust Finn. After everything they'd been through, the one thing she thought she could trust was Finn's word, and that was worth nothing to her now. And that wasn't the only thing he had done to her. Since they had first started talking to each other, Finn had refused to defend her in fear of people making fun of him instead. He had made a lot of poor choices, he had tried to trick her into rejoining glee by flirting with her when he thought his girlfriend was pregnant with his baby. Finn had also chosen football over glee last year when Coach Tanaka had given the boys an ultimatum, while Noah had surprised everyone and chosen his friends in glee over a silly sport. Rachel wasn't sure why she hadn't noticed it sooner, but Noah had always been there for her unlike everyone else in Glee that took the easy route an chose to remain quiet in her time of need. Noah had nearly gotten expelled when he decided to get even with Vocal Adrenaline after they'd tricked her into going out into the parking lot and tormented her before tossing eggs at her. She had been utterly terrified and humiliated when Jesse smashed the cold disgusting egg over her head. She still had nightmares about the experience.

Rachel received curious stares of everyone in Spanish class, even from Mr. Schuester when she passed her usual seat in the front of the class for a quiet seat in the back of the classroom. She usually believed that it was critical to one's education to sit in the front where you could easily observe the lesson and be noticed by the teacher. But this time she wanted to stay as inconspicuous as possible. She didn't want to have to listen to the whispers behind her. She'd had to deal with enough of those throughout the day and they were really starting to affect her no matter how hard she tried to ignore them.

The class passed quickly. Rachel spent the class avoiding Mr. Schuester's eyes, remaining quiet in her seat staring out the window. When the bell rang, she slowly packed up her things. Rachel slid her notebook, Spanish textbook, and pencils into her bag before heading towards the door of the near empty classroom. She didn't want to deal with Mr. Schuester's cheerful demeanor and kind concern. She had just let out a sigh, relieved that once again she'd been able to avoid a confrontation with her fellow glee members when someone said her name from behind.

"Rachel! Man-hands get over here. I want to talk to you," Quinn demanded, standing before Rachel impeccably dressed in her cheerios uniform and perfectly styled blonde hair pulled back in the standard cheerios ponytail.

Rachel gulped. Out of everyone at McKinley, she'd dreaded talking to Quinn the most. Rachel had started dating Finn after Quinn had cheated on him with Puck and become pregnant with his baby. But it wasn't just the relationship drama that had her avoiding Quinn. No, it was Shelby and Beth. It seemed like she'd always come second best to girls like Quinn. She felt like a fool for believing that Finn would actually choose her over a cheerleader like Quinn or Santana. She wasn't enough for her Finn or Noah, and she certainly hadn't been enough for her mother. How could she possibly think that Rachel didn't need her in her life? Why did she have to give up on Rachel so quickly and decide to start over from scratch with Quinn and Puck's daughter, Beth?

It seemed like no one ever thought about her feelings and how this affected her. Rachel was truly happy for Beth; she deserved to live with a family or mother that could give her the life she deserved. But didn't Shelby see how much Rachel still needed her mom? She might not need her mother around to teach her how to walk and talk but she still needed advice that only a mother could give. She hadn't talked to anyone - not even her fathers - but after she'd gotten over the initial shock, she'd been really excited about getting to know her birth mother. There were so many things she wanted to know. So many questions she needed answered. But her dreams of finally having a mother were shattered in an instant. She would never have that maternal figure to give her advice about boys and things like sex. Maybe if her mother had been around she would've gone to her about her problems with Finn, rather than turning to Puck.

Rachel was startled out of her thoughts by Quinn as she walked closer, "It's not going to happen Berry."

"What are you talking about Quinn," Rachel asked confused.

"Just because you were stupid enough to lose Finn, over the dunderhead Puck no less, does not mean that you can try to steal another one of my boyfriends," Quinn burst out, clearly upset.

Rachel starred at Quinn's face, at first uncertain if the girl was messing with her. When she realized Quinn was serious, she tried not to laugh, "You think I'm trying to steal Sam away from you?"

"He sat with you at lunch, didn't he? You both looked like you were having such a good time and he's never really talked to you before. Now, you're single again and he's all over you. Why couldn't you just have ignored the fact that Finn and Santana slept together? It's not like you guys were dating at the time. You should've stayed all lovey-dovey with Finn, and then gone off to Broadway after graduation, but no you have to ruin everything for me. You always set your eyes on my boyfriends, and I don't get what they see in you, Man-hands."

Rachel flinched. "I'm not trying to steal your boyfriend Quinn. Do you honestly think I can move on from Finn that quickly? Not that you care to comprehend my feelings, but Finn broke my heart first. And Sam is completely in love with you, everyone can see it. I missed History class on Friday and Sam was just letting me know about a group assignment we were assigned while I was gone. We were trying to set up a time to work on our project. Sam is a lovely boy Quinn. But I'm not interested in him, and if I were, I wouldn't have pursued him. Despite what you may think Quinn, my mission in life is not to try to ruin your life. I actually thought we were starting to become friends..."

Quinn just stared at Rachel in utter silence.

"If there isn't anything else you want to accuse me of, I need to get to History. I missed class on Friday, and I need to get caught up. That is, if it's all right with you," she said sarcastically.

There was a moment of utter silence, " Don't get smart with me Berry. Now that you and Finn are over, you're back to the bottom of the food chain. You're wrong Rachel, we'll never be friends because I can't trust you to keep you nasty hands away from my boyfriends. Stay away from Sam, I'll be watching you," Quinn stated before turning, and strutting down the hallway.

Rachel sighed as she watched the petite cheerleader gracefully stride away. Just when things were finally starting to look up, she'd caught the head cheerleader's eye. Great, just what she needed. She could never get a break! And it wasn't like she could avoid spending time with Sam even if she wanted to. They had an assignment in history, and she wasn't willing to risk her grades to avoid Quinn's wrath. She would have to learn to deal. Was a little peace and quiet too much to ask for? She could deal with Finn's indiscretion by herself, but to have to deal with everyone, even people from glee constantly giving her grief was disheartening. Couldn't anyone let her deal with her heartbreak in peace, rather than doing everything in their power to make it worse? Hell, now she was going to be late for History!