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: Hey, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry if anyone's disappointed that I've been focusing on Rachel rather than Puck. The beginning of the story is about Rachel growing as a person and not being defined by who's she is dating at a given time. I promise there will be lots of puckleberry goodness in the future but they're only going to be friends for awhile, despite how much Puck tries to convince her otherwise.

AN2: You guys are awesome! Thank you so much for all of the reviews, alerts, and thank you to all of the people that made my story a favorite. It really means a lot to me and motivates me to update my story faster! Also want to send a shout out to BurningCrashingRaining and GirlInTheMirror121 for being great Betas!

Chapter 6: Contemplations and Decisions

The school day passed fairly quickly for Rachel, who took it upon herself to avoid Noah Puckerman as much as humanly possible. It wasn't too difficult for her, while they shared the same Math and English class, he hadn't bothered to show up for either. This both annoyed and relived Rachel. She was annoyed because she knew he would have decent grades if he just applied himself and actually attended class once in a while. Rachel was relieved that he hadn't showed up because she was worried about seeing him after kissing him... again. Ever since her breakup with Finn she had decided to swear off men, at least for awhile. Her heart had been broken too many times recently and she wanted to focus less on dating, and more time on getting to know everyone in glee.

Noah had ruined her plan, or at least been a minor setback. There was something about him that drew Rachel in. She swore she wouldn't kiss him again but she couldn't resist. Noah had been so sweet and considerate, offering her a ride to school. He even took the time to check on her and make sure she was alright after her breakup with Finn, though he'd never admit it. And he even admitted that he'd been partially to blame, which was silly because Rachel felt guilty for using him to get back at Finn.

Rachel had rarely seen his softer side because he was always "Puck" at school. But at home she knew he was different, at home with his family he was a completely different person. He loved his single-overworked mother and his kid sister more than anything... except his daughter Beth. It always warmed her heart and when he saw them together. She knew they'd made the right decision, giving Beth up for adoption but it broke her heart. Noah would never admit it, but she knew he wanted to raise his beautiful baby girl, and that Beth would always have a place in his heart. Sometimes bad things happened, but there was always a reason. Quinn's pregnancy affected so many lives but if she hadn't gotten pregnant with Puck's child Beth would've never been born. Who could ever wish that precious child had never been born? She only wished that Noah would find the courage to show everyone what an amazing person he really was instead of hiding behind his tough guy persona.

There was something that Noah said on the way to school that she couldn't stop thinking about. Noah had said that men and women could never really be friends and she disagreed with that sentiment. If anyone described Rachel they would say other than being incredibly talented and that she dressed like an old lady and a young school girl all at the same time, they would say that she was a fiercely determined person. In Rachel's opinion her conversation that morning had seemed like a challenge, and she planned to treat it as such. It was the perfect plan, she's spend all her time becoming friends with the guys in glee rather than dating them. It would make things less awkward and easier to focus on the Regionals, besides she'd be too focused on being friends with Noah that it would keep her from jumping him and begging him to touch her.

It wasn't just Noah she wanted to become friends with, but everyone else in glee club. She had been so focused on herself for so long that she'd pushed everyone away. Admitting the trust hurt but maybe if things went well with Sam she could ask him for advice on being more approachable with the others. Rachel would have gone to Noah but she didn't quite trust herself alone with him, besides he'd probably just try (and succeed) to convince her to make out in a closet somewhere, or in the girls locker room like they had last year when they were dating.

Lunch went better than the previous day, Rachel finally got the courage to sit with the other glee kids. It helped that Sam and Puck were both there. She wasn't sure if they'd talked about it beforehand, but anytime anyone brought up Finn or the breakup one of them would always find a way to quickly change the topic. Having friends that really cared about you for who you are as a person rather than your talent was great and a new experience for Rachel. Growing up, the only friends she'd had were those in her vocal and dance classes that were friends with her until she was given the solos, then they would laugh at her and whisper behind her back. Sam and Noah's actions were surprisingly unexpected and thoughtful. Despite their attempts, Mercedes and Tina were able to corner her towards the end of the lunch period.

"We're really sorry about how we acted yesterday, Rachel. We should've come to you rather than listening to all the gossip and I guess I can see why you'd kiss Puck. He is a fine specimen even though he is a little cocky," said Mercedes apologetically.

Tina nodded, "It wasn't any of our business, we just got caught up in all the drama, which isn't an excuse. Face it, we wouldn't be the glee club if we didn't have some drama," she teased.

Rachel blushed, "I'd just prefer the drama didn't include me for once."

"Mike and I talked to Sam yesterday, and he said you were really broken up about it. I can't believe how cruel and insensitive Santana was in the glee. She went out of her way to hurt you, knowing that it would break your heart when you found out about Finn. He should've told you the truth, it wasn't right for you to find out like that. I don't know what I would've done if it had been Mike. Instead of giving you the third degree we should have been there for you," Tina stretched her arms across the table to grasp Rachel's hands, "Can you ever forgive us?"

Rachel was still incredibly hurt by their actions the previous day. They should have come to her on their own, without Sam or anyone else prompting them. But she had decided on a brand new start for herself and it was only fair that Tina and Mercedes receive one as well. Rachel grasped Tina's hand and gave both girls a small smile, "Of course I forgive you, that's what friends are for, right," she questioned, still not entirely certain how to deal with a situation like this. Rachel was an incredible singer but she was clueless about proper social etiquette.

"Definitely," Mercedes grinned, "now girl tell us how you're holding up. Are you going to sing to Finn in glee today? There are so many different songs you could use that would make your voice sound amazing and Tina and I will help you out if you'd like."

Rachel worried her lip and looked down at her near empty lunch tray, "No, I'm not going to sing to Finn but thank you for offering your assistance. I think it's really over between us, and I'm ok with that."

Mercedes and Tina both gave her looks of shock and disbelief.

She rushed to finish, "Well I'm not alright but I will be eventually. After we broke up on Friday I came up with several selections that fit my vocal range perfectly and described my feelings, but I started to realize that I was choosing less songs about forgiveness and more about anger and heartbreak. As the weekend wore on I realized that I don't want to beg him to come back to me. Why should I beg him for his forgiveness when I'm still devastated by his betrayal of my trust. He lied to me and said he was a virgin. It might sound ridiculous and impractical but I refuse to be in a relationship where there's no trust. And I don't trust him, at least with my heart. I'm done embarrassing myself for him. It's time for me to focus on what's important!"

"Solos," Mercedes questioned less enthusiastic than before.

Rachel shook her head, "I like solos and I know that I'm an amazing performer," she blushed, "I know this is going to sound selfish and that my concentration should be on finding songs for our set list for Regional's, but I'd really like to get to know everyone in glee better. I feel like I've been so focused on myself or on Finn that I haven't really gotten to know either of you ladies or anyone else in glee."

Tina and Mercedes were completely blown away by Rachel's honesty. At first they thought she was going to give them a speech about why she needed to have yet another solo, but they were wrong. Rachel was a little crazy, ok maybe a lot crazy, but she was just like them. She was just struggling to find herself and where she belonged in a school full of unforgiving teenagers.

Rachel took their silence as a negative response and rushed to say, "Don't get me wrong, I'll still dedicate all of my time to glee and help pick out an dazzling set list that will guarantee a win at Regionals and a trip to Nationals in New York. I also understand if you don't want to spend time getting better aquatinted..."

"No," both girls burst out.

"We were both surprised that you wanted to get to know us and spend time outside of glee," Tina rushed to say.

Mercedes nodded, "In the past you never seemed interested. You've always been so... focused on glee and your solos."

Rachel blushed, "I'm terribly sorry, I tend to focus all of my energy on one thing. When we started New Directions we were a rag tag group of misfits with no chance at winning. We didn't even have enough members to compete in a competition. So when the guys and cheerios joined I became so focused on winning. I didn't want Principle Figgins to cancel the club after we worked so hard to find each other."

"It'll be hard without Kurt this year, but we've got Sam now. We're so going to New York this year! Then you could actually see the city you're always talking about," Tina teased.

"I know I'm so excited, I've already taken the time to put together a list of events and places we can check out in New York if we get the opportunity to perform at Nationals. I thought it would be a great experience if we all went to a real Broadway production as a group," Rachel trailed off, blushing. "Sorry I've just been so excited about this once in a lifetime opportunity."

"Girl, that's awesome. I don't know about everyone else but I'd love to see a real Broadway show instead of singing their songs in glee club. I can't believe you took the time to put that together for us, but first we need to win Regionals," Mercedes beamed, gathering her tray and her things together when the bell rang, announcing the end of their lunch period.

Rachel rose to follow, "Well, I do have a few ideas about song selection that could showcase a lot of our voices. It would make an excellent choice for Regionals."

AN: Sorry it took me so long to post this chapter, I'm already working on the next one. Let me know what you guys think should happen next and what you think will happen when Rachel meets Sam's younger brother and sister. On a side not does anyone know when Sam's family got evicted from their house? I can't find the information anywhere :(