Disclaimer: All characters belong to Ryan Murphy and FOX.

A huge thanks to my beta, sandra-wfg. Without you, the story would be filled with flaws. :-)

Author's note at the bottom.

Chapter Eight

Rachel walked into the coffee shop nervously. She was meeting up with Kurt, Mercedes, and Blaine to spend the day with them. To say she was nervous would be the understatement of the year. Rachel hadn't ever hung out in a big group – save the Gleeks for competitions – before. Granted, she had hung out with Kurt a couple times but she knew it wouldn't be the same.

"Over here, Miss Rachel!" She grinned when she heard Kurt's voice.

She greeted him with a hug and smiled at Blaine as she slid into the booth next to Mercedes.

"How are you?" Mercedes asked.

"I'm good," she replied awkwardly.

Mercedes gave her a pointed look while Kurt rolled her eyes. Rachel sighed at their responses. She knew they were wondering what happened between her and Finn.

"Am I missing something?" Blaine asked.

Rachel opened her mouth to answer but Kurt spoke up.

"I forgot to tell you. Yesterday was the big duet. Rachel performed a duet with Puck – the guy she kissed while going out with Finn – and Finn freaked out but our mini Barbra Streisand put him into place," Kurt laughed and looked at Rachel, "by the way, last night was not a fun, Brady Bunch episode at my house."

Rachel gasped, "what happened?"

Kurt shrugged. "It started at dinner. Finn was acting extremely rudely to everyone. He kept snapping at us for passing the plates not quickly enough or not moving out of the way. Finally, my dad got fed up and started yelling at him about respect. Carole, not wanting a big fight to ensue, tried to calm Finn down but Finn just yelled at all of us and got up to leave. Carole followed him and told him that he wasn't allowed to just run away from his problems anymore and that he needed to explain to her what was going on -"

"Carole still doesn't know?" Rachel interrupted him. How could she not know? She remembered a conversation she and Finn had had over the summer about their parents. Finn told her that his mom knew everything about him because she was the one person he truly trusted after his father had died.

He shook his head sadly. "No. I think he was too embarrassed to, really."

Rachel bit her lip and tried to will away the voice inside of her that felt sympathy for Finn.

"Anyways," Kurt spoke quickly, "they got into this huge argument and finally Finn just broke down. He started punching the wall and when Carole grabbed him, he just lost it. He was crying and kept apologizing. That's when my dad and I left knowing that they needed time by themselves."

It was silent as everyone absorbed what Kurt had said.

"Wow," Rachel replied lamely.

Finally Blaine changed the topic to something less heavy. They talked about songs they were thinking of performing for Regionals. Rachel knew Kurt and Blaine posed no threat so she and Mercedes were quick to tell them what songs they wanted to perform.

While the conversation went on, Rachel couldn't help but think of what Kurt had just told her. Rachel felt an urge to go comfort Finn but she knew she couldn't. She had made it clear to herself and Finn that she was going to move on and she couldn't go and comfort him. But the fact that Finn had actually cried bothered Rachel more than she wanted it to. He always kept his emotions hidden – keeping up a façade that he was strong and nothing could bring him down. She wondered if she had damaged him almost as much as he had damaged her.

After the coffee, the group went to the local mall. Rachel and Blaine watched as Mercedes and Kurt taught them about the latest fashion trends such as never wearing leggings as pants or pants are supposed to be tucked into boots and not covering them.

Once everyone had their fair share of shopping bags, they headed back to Kurt's house. Rachel was surprised at how comfortable she felt hanging out with the three of them. She found herself not only laughing along with the jokes but cracking a few. It was so easy hanging out like this. There was no drama or tension between the four of them. Rachel wished she could have built these friendships earlier on. Maybe, if she had then she wouldn't have wanted to move so badly.

Moving. Rachel groaned inwardly at the fact that she still had yet to tell anyone. Looking over at Kurt, she knew he'd be the first one she told. Her eyes landed on Mercedes – how would she tell her? How would she tell Noah? Would they be mad at her? She knew they wouldn't but a part of her - the pessimistic, angry side - knew that it could happen.

Trying not think about that, she focused on letting herself relax and have a good time.

"Okay well I have to get going now. My dad decided to make us all go to this stupid banquet for his job," Mercedes said after they finished watching the movie, Pretty Woman.

Blaine stood up and yawned. "Yeah, I have to get back to home as well. Rachel, you need a ride?"

Rachel shook her head. "No, I'm fine. I'll just call my dad. Thanks for the offer, though."

After exchanging farewells, Rachel stood with Kurt. He looked over at her.

"I take it that you and I need to have a heart to heart?"

"You know me too well, Hummel."

They went back to Kurt's room and sat on his bed. Rachel glanced over at the night stand next to his bed and saw a picture from the wedding. In it, Kurt was standing next to Finn while Burt and Carole stood behind them. They were grinning and it was not one of those fake smiles that people see on movie posters or travel pamphlets. Rachel could see the happiness that vibrated from all of them and knew it was one of the happiest days for them. She bit her lip. That day had been one of Rachel's as well.

"So what did you need to talk to me about?" Kurt asked gently.

She took a deep breath. "I don't know why I'm so scared to tell you but you have to promise that you won't…freak out, okay?"

"I can't promise that when you're starting freak me out already," he replied nervously.

"I just…" she took a deep breath, "I'm moving. I'm leaving Lima after the school year."

Kurt stared at her. "But where are you going to go?"

She shrugged. "I don't know yet. My dads want to move to New York City. They think it'll be a good chance for me to break out into the Broadway scene."

He sighed. Rachel played with the hem of her skirt as she waited for Kurt to speak.

"I just don't get it. I mean, if you had told me the week after you and Finn had split that you were moving, then I would have told you to go for it. You were tormented relentlessly and you had every right to leave. But now, I thought it had stopped. You're finally making friends, Rach. Do you really want to move?" He finally asked. She could hear the confusion in his voice.

"I have thought about it," she replied honestly, "But it just…it isn't enough, you know? The bullying has definitely decreased since I've gained friends, it's still there. I can't tell you how many times Santana has pushed me into the locker or Karofsky's 'bumped' into me causing me to drop everything. I just want a new break. I want to move somewhere where no one knows about my past. I want people to like me instead of hate me because I'm the cliché, annoying unpopular girl. I want to be liked."

Kurt grabbed both of her hands. She stared at him helplessly.

"You are liked, Rachel. I know people have been horrible to you in the past but I can guarantee you that the Gleeks have your back now. You need to tell someone about this bullying, though. You can't let Karofsky chase you away like he chased me away."

She interrupted him. "Yeah but don't you love Dalton? I want to love school, Kurt. I want to enjoy it and not dread about what kind of things the bullies have thought to do to me."

He nodded. "I do like Dalton but I miss McKinley. I miss seeing everybody every day. I miss Glee club and how it made me feel normal and okay to be gay. I miss that."

"Then why don't you come back?" Rachel argued. She didn't get why Kurt was trying to make her stay.

"It's a long story, Rachel."

"I've told you everything, Kurt. I can handle whatever it is you want to tell me."

Kurt closed his eyes. When he opened them, Rachel's mouth dropped as she saw the tears pooling up in his eyes. He dropped her hands and let his head fall into his hands.

"Kurt…oh my god, are you okay?" She asked as she wrapped her arms around him. "I'm sorry for interrogating you like that. You don't have to tell me. I'm so sorry."

She felt him shaking his head.

"It's fine, Rachel. I just…I want to tell you, I really do. But I can't. It's embarrassing." He mumbled weakly.

She nodded. "It's fine, Kurt. Just know that I'll always be here for you."

He didn't reply but Rachel didn't mind. She knew he understood. They understood each other in ways that others couldn't. Rachel guessed that it came from being bullied relentlessly solely for the fact that they didn't fit the standards that high school students created. They weren't normal to anyone. They didn't fit in with what cool kids did. And for that, they were punished.

Rachel closed her eyes and leaned her head on Kurt's. Maybe her new school would accept her. Maybe she would finally know what it was like to be normal.

A/N: Thank you all for the support on this story. I never thought I'd break even 50 reviews and now I'm over 100. You all are amazing. *hugs* Reviewers get a teaser for the next chapter. Make sure your PM is enabled.

If you were in Rachel's shoes, would you want to move?

Until then, I leave you with Rachel who's going crazy trying to figure out who hurt Kurt.