Sorry 'bout the brief hiatus, folks. I was working on my story Beyond Wasted be sure to check it out. :) No Puckleberry in this chapter, but the next one will be full of it. Scout's honor. Remember to review. Please?

CHAPTER THIRTEEN:

Kind of a Bitch

Quinn sat in Sue Sylvester's office; her legs crossed daintily at the ankle, hands resting lightly on her small baby bump and a cruel smile on her face. "You're sure about this?" the Cheerio's coach asked.

"Absolutely." Quinn answered emotionlessly. "Those gleeks are getting a littlle too uppity. Thinking they can get away with dating jocks…" She shook her head.

Sue clasped her hands and rested them on her desk "If this is about your baby daddy drama-"

"It's not." Quinn snapped. She stood up slowly and slapped a piece of paper on the desk.

"What's this?"

"I don't know what Mr. Schue gave you, but that's the set list for sectionals."

"Hmm…" The coach smirked as she looked over the list, "so, Curly Sue thought he could get one over on me, did he? Good work, Fabray. Maybe you do have what it takes to get back on the squad."

The former head Cheerio shot the coach a look over her shoulder "Start with Brittany."

"Wright? I thought she was your friend." Sue sneered.

"Is she a Cheerio?" She didn't wait for the tall teacher to answer her "Then she's not my friend."

"Lopez won't be happy."

Quinn just shrugged and walked out the door.

Looking down at the sectionals set list Sue smirked; maybe she had a protégé in that one yet.

It was between first and second period and Rachel was walking down the hallway with her history textbook clutched to her chest, humming Defying Gravity under her breath. She let out a yelp when an arm reached out and pulled her into the girl's room.

"Not the nose!" She cried, shutting her eyes tightly.

"Rach?"

"Brit?" the diva opened her eyes at the sound of her friend's voice. She tried to stifle her gasp with her hand. "Oh, Brit, what happened?"

The blonde looked at Rachel through her drenched bangs, purple ice melting and dripping down her face. "I got slushied."

Rachel pulled out her cell phone and pressed the speed dial "Kurt?" She waited as the soprano droned on about their duet "Kurt!" she finally interrupted "Focus. We've got a code purple, second floor washroom." She sent Brittany another sympathetic glance as she slipped her phone back into her pocket and led the blonde over to the sink. "Lean back, Brit, I'll get some of the slushie out of your hair."

"What's a code purple?" Brittany asked as Rachel gently massaged her scalp. "Oh," she said in realization as a drop of purple liquid rolled down her cheek "I get it." She sighed as Rachel continued her ministrations "You know; you're really good at this Rach…"

Rachel smiled softly "I've had lots of practice." She cut the blonde off before she could say anything else "Who did this to you, Brit?"

"What's the emergency, Princess?" Kurt asked as he breezed into the girl's room, interrupting before Rachel could get an answer "I thought those Neanderthals had stopped with the facials since you wrapped Noah around your-" he stopped when he saw Rachel rinsing the ex-Cheerio's hair. "Oh my… B, are you okay, sweetie?"

"Yeah," Brittany smiled from her seat in front of the sink "Rachel's really good at this. She could be, like, a professional head massager, or something when she grows up."

Rachel chuckled at Brittany's praise. "Thanks Brit, but I've got other plans for when I grow up."

Brittany just shrugged good naturedly and smiled again when Kurt handed her a towel. "Too bad." She wrapped the towel around her drenched hair and looked from Rachel to Kurt and back again "Did you know that slushies sting your eyes?"

"Yeah, B," Kurt chuckled gingerly wrapping an arm around her, vainly trying to avoid any of the melted purple ice, "we know." The tall boy looked over his shoulder at Rachel "Find Santana." He mouthed, causing a shiver to run down the brunette's spine. Whoever was responsible for this was in for it.

"Excuse me Mr. Neilson," Rachel said primly as she knocked on the door of Santana's math class, "I need to speak with Santana Lopez."

"Miss Lopez hasn't graced us with her presence yet today." The overweight teacher said boredly.

"I see." Rachel replied, exchanging glances with Mercedes, who was also in the class. "Well, I'm sorry to have bothered you."

Mercedes stood up as Rachel left "I need hit the washroom."

Mr. Neilson rolled his eyes and waved dismissively at her "I'm sure you do, Miss Jones."

Mercedes gathered her stuff quickly and was out the door before Puck- who was also in the class- could ask her what was up. "Rachel?"

"Mercedes, we need to find Santana. Brittany got slushied."

"What?" the black girl asked angrily "Someone slushied on Barbie? That's just not right."

"I agree," Rachel nodded "which is why-" then for the second time in fifteen minutes the tiny diva felt herself being tugged into one of the school's washrooms. "Ow." She complained, rubbing her arm "Why do people insist on- oh…" Rachel trailed off as she took in a furious Santana, one who was covered in melting blue slushie.

"Berry." The cheerleader said evenly.

"Oh, Santana-" Rachel pulled the Latina into a hug; not caring about the girl's intimidating glare or the sticky blue liquid covering her.

Mercedes burst into the ladies room seconds later "Rachel?" She took in the sight of Rachel cradling the normally menacing Cheerio against her, slushie and all. "What the hell?"

"Mercedes," Rachel said softly, "go grab a towel for Santana while I help her get the slushie out of her hair." The fashionista nodded and hurried out of the washroom.

Rachel led the stunned Cheerio- nobody hugged her, except for Brit who had been her best friend since forever and sometimes Matt, when she allowed it- to the sink and gently pushed her into the chair she'd pulled from against one of the walls. "I always wondered why the chairs were in here…"

Rachel smiled wryly "We gleeks have made good use of them."

"Why are you being so nice to me Rachel?"

Rachel shrugged as she rinsed the ice out of Santana's hair. "No one deserves to be slushied." She said softly. She was the one who was stunned this time, when the Hispanic cheerleader burst into tears. "Santana?" Rachel stood uneasily as the other girl threw her arms around her and sobbed against her stomach.

Mercedes cleared her throat awkwardly when she reentered the room, towel in hand. "Um, I-"

"Why don't you leave the towel and go find Kurt and Brittany?" Rachel suggested as she pushed Santana's head back and went back to cleaning the girl's hair. "Tell them we'll meet in the parking lot, by my car."

"Sure." Mercedes left hastily, a little freaked out by Santana's break down.

"Why's Brit with Hummel?" Santana asked once she'd regained her composure.

"She got slushied too." Rachel answered honestly.

"What?" Rachel just nodded sadly as Santana toweled her hair dry. Santana sighed suddenly. "Look Rachel, I don't say this often, but I'm sorry." When the diva didn't respond to Santana's mumbled admission the head Cheerio fidgeted uncomfortably. "Look, I know I'm a bitch, okay? I'm sorry I ever slushied you. You're- you're a nice person, for a psycho diva anyway."

Rachel ignored the last part of the apology and smiled tentatively at the cheerleader. "You called me by my first name. Not Rocky, or Berry… You only call Brittany by her first name… and Matt too, I guess."

"I call my friends by their names." Santana snapped. "Now what am I going to do about my uniform? I believe you owe me a pair of jeans."

Rachel shrugged "I stopped bringing a second set of clothes when Noah and I started dating again, but I could take you home, or to the mall."

Santana raised an eyebrow "You are gonna skip school?"

Rachel smirked in return "Anything for a friend, right?"

Santana laughed at the girl's unexpected use of sarcasm. "You know, you're kind of a bitch too... Did you know that? I think this friend thing might work after all." Rachel just laughed. "So are you going to the game before my party tonight? 'Cause I think Brit wants to go, but she doesn't want to sit alone."

"I don't know much about football." The brunette admitted as they headed for the parking lot.

Santana shrugged. "You think Brit does?"

The two girls glanced at each other before bursting into laughter. Maybe this friendship thing would work out…