A/N: As you can see, the story has now gone back to the title "Repeating History". While I loved the other title, the number of reviews has decreased since the title change, so I decided to change it back to see if the title change is what caused the decreasing reviews.

Sorry for the delay in updates – I've been so, so busy!

She can hear them screaming in her mind as she lies in her bed, unable to move. It's the anniversary of the accident, and she can hear them screaming in her mind. She can hear the sound of a car spinning out of control and she can hear her friends panicking as they realize this isn't good, that they're in trouble.

She can hear them screaming.

"Rachel..." Brittany whispers in her ear. "It's time to wake up", she adds as she gently shakes her. "We have to go and get breakfast... we promised the group that we'd go with them"

She murmurs something unintelligible and rolls over so that her back is facing the blonde and tugs the covers over her head.

You let us burn... Finn whispers as Brittany tries to pull her out of bed. You saved yourself but left us to die, Tina adds while Brittany pulls the covers away from her. You snatched our futures away from us, Artie chimes in and her nose starts to itch, a telltale sign that she's near tears. We deserved so much better Rachel, Kurt finishes, his voice cold and harsh.

"Brittany, please... just leave it"

"I can't", the blonde replies, her voice cracking. "What if Santana's there?"

"Brittany, you don't understand", she says softly as she pulls the covers away from her face to get a look at her roommate. "I can't do this today"

"Rachie, please", Brittany whispers, her bottom lip poking at as she blinks back tears. "I really need you"

She wishes she could just close her eyes and go to sleep forever, but that's not the way these things work. Brittany's pouting and tears are slipping out uncontrollably, and life seems to continually go on, even when she doesn't want it too.

Her legs tighten as she climbs out of bed and she feels exhausted, even though she's slept for at least 10 hours. Brittany smiles a radiant smile, her whole face lighting up but even that doesn't make her feel better. She just wants to get back into bed.

Brittany throws clothes in her direction and she pulls them on, her hands shaking slightly as she does. She plasters a smile on her face when Brittany looks over at her, but her eyes are prickling and her nose is still itchy and her entire body feels like it's about to collapse.

"Come on Rach, it's time to go", Brittany calls softly, and she forces herself to nod, despite the fact that she has no interest in attending this breakfast at all. "The cab is already outside"

"Do you mind if we walk Britt?"

"I'm really sorry Rach, but it's too far to walk... we'd be really late. We can walk home though!" Brittany offers, and again, she just nods. She's not in the mood to argue – not today.

Brittany slides into the backseat first and she follows nervously, her heart beating rapidly and her breaths shallow. Brittany grabs her hand and thanks her for agreeing to come but she doesn't answer. Her lungs don't seem to be working properly – she's finding it hard to inhale.

Puck's waiting for them as soon as the taxi arrives at the diner and he pulls her to the side as soon as he sees her face. Brittany just smiles sadly and walks inside, her hands shaking as she stresses over whether Santana will be there.

"What's going on? Your face is pale, you're shaking and you look like you can't breathe. Is there something we should be doing?" he asks, his voice leaving no room for argument while his eyes search her face for the answer.

She hesitates, unsure if she should tell him what's happening or if she should merely play it casual and blow off his concern. She decides to play it casual because he's looking at her with sympathy in his eyes and she's worked too hard to be known as more than that. She doesn't want all her hard work to go up in smoke. "I'm fine Puck... I just had a late night and an early morning", she lies as she forces out a fake chuckle.

He frowns but accepts her answer before ushering her into the diner. She sits at the opposite end of the table, ignoring the glare he sends her way, and ignoring the pleading looks Brittany keeps sending her, practically begging her to take the empty seat to her right.

The table is awash with conversation, especially considering the fact that Santana didn't show up, so Brittany's more than willing to laugh and joke and tell stories about the latest events in her classes. Mike laughs in all the right places and Matt smiles at every single one of Brittany's jokes, but Puck just ignores it all, just staring at her.

She pushes the food around her plate, her appetite draining away as she surveys her bacon and pancakes. She excuses herself from the table as soon as everyone else starts eating and her heart sinks when Puck follows her.

"You're an awful liar Rachel", he begins, his face expressionless as he stares at her.

"What makes you say that?" she says innocently but she's sure her eyes are giving her away. Her dad always used to say that her eyes were her most expressive quality.

"Don't play stupid", he whispers. "It doesn't suit you, and everyone at the table knows that something is going on with you"

"Thank you for the concern Puck but I'm absolutely fine", she insists, her eyes darkening as she glares at him. "So please, just drop it"

"Rachel..."

"I said drop it", she hisses. "I've let this charade go on for long enough. We aren't friends Puck. You're just some guy who helped me through a little rough patch, and that's it. I'm civil to you because our friends are friends and that's it", she whispers, her heart pounding in her chest as the lies tumble from her lips. "I wish you would just get the hint and leave me the hell alone"

"Well... thanks for clearing that up for me", he says quietly, his eyes trained on the floor. "I'll get out of your hair"

"Puck..."

"Just leave it Rachel", he spits before turning on his heel and storming back to the table. Her eyes prickle with tears and her nose starts to itch, and she walks into the bathroom just as the tears start to pour.

Slamming the door behind her, she sinks to the floor, burying her head in her hands as the sobs rack her body. Everything she touches falls apart and she's just exhausted. She can't do this anymore.

"Rachel..." a voice says softly from above her and her head jolts upwards, startled. Finn's standing above her, smiling gently, as the tears continue to roll down her cheeks. "It's okay..."

"You can't be here... this isn't real. This is all in my head", she replies, her voice cracking as she stares at him.

"Rachel..."

"No. Don't Rachel me. You're dead", she screams, her eyes filling with tears. "You've been gone for years. You left me", she adds, her voice scratchy as she yells.

"Rachel..."

"You promised me forever. You said that you'd never leave me. You're a liar Finn Hudson", she yells as she pushes herself off the floor and flies at him, her hands outstretched. She claws at his skin, crying and whimpering as she tries to inflict as much damage as possible.

Her body aches as she tries to hurt him and all the fight drains from her body as she collapses into his arms. He envelopes her in a hug and she cries into his shirt.

"This can't be real", she whispers. "You died. The car exploded. There was a funeral. This can't be real, but I can see you. I can feel your skin against my hand and I can hear your heart beating in your chest. I can smell you. This can't be real but I can smell you Finn", she adds, her voice breaking.

He doesn't reply but tightens his arms around her and slowly sits down on the floor so that she's cradled in his arms.

"I'm sick, aren't I?" she asks softly after a moment or two of silence. "That's why you're here, right? There's something wrong with me..."

"It's going to be okay Rach. You can make it through this", he says quietly, his hand brushing her hair as he whispers in her ear. "You can get help and you can survive this. You're a survivor"

"Maybe I don't want to survive this. Maybe I want to go with you. I miss you so much Finn... it hurts so bad", she whimpers, her heart pounding as she grips onto his wrist tightly. "Please, take me with you"

"And make you leave all those people behind? It's not your time to go, Rachel. You've got so much more time left to do all those amazing things you always talked about", he explains, his eyes soft as he stares at her.

"Please, Finn, please. You can't leave me behind again"

"What about Mike, and Matt? Who's going to play vintage video games with them on a Wednesday night if you come with me? Who's going to make sure that Brittany and Santana pull it together and finally sort everything out? How would Puck ever get over it if you came with me and your last words to him were to leave you the hell alone?"

"I don't want to be the only one left", she announces to the empty room. She feels cold and empty as she looks around for Finn. The floor is pressing against her legs, sending shivers up her spine, and the warm arms have fallen away from her chest. She's alone. "Finn?" she calls, her voice cracking. "Finn?"

There's a noise from behind her and she spins around, tears still streaming down her face. Brittany's standing in the doorway, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open as she stares.

"We heard you yelling and screaming so I came to look for you", Brittany explains, her eyes still wide as she walks into the bathroom.

"The hand-dryer wouldn't work", she lies, her eyes quickly drying up as she looks at the blonde.

"Rachel, I think you need help", Brittany whispers softly as she crouches down in front of her. "We can help you"

She's trying to take us away from you Rach. She doesn't want you to be happy, Finn whispers. She's trying to make you suffer because she's suffering right now. She wants to keep you all to herself, Kurt adds. She's trying to control you.

"It'll be okay Rach. We're going to help you"

Before she knows what she's doing, she's scrambling backwards away from Brittany. The blonde doesn't get the hint though, choosing to move closer and closer. "It's going to be okay Rachel"

She's trying to take us away... she's trying to make you the only one left behind...

Brittany inches closer again and softly reaches for her hand. She pulls away, and quickly slaps the blonde across the face, sending her reeling backwards.

"You can't take them away from me", she whispers. "They're all I have left"

She sees Brittany's panicked face and Puck, Mike and Matt running into the bathroom, but that's all she remembers before everything goes dark.