A/N: I'm glad everyone like the first chapter, and again, your reviews meant a lot! Anyway, I got three projects to do all in a week, so I might not update for a while. But! I left you with a much longer chapter in the meantime, so here it is.
She didn't know how long she stood there taking everything in, but next thing she knew Puck was waving a hand in front of her face. She blinked and looked up at worried eyes and looked around to see the hallway empty. Had she been standing there for that long?
"Rachel?" Puck asked, taking his hand away from her in front of her face.
"Yes, Noah?" Rachel tried to sound as neutral as she could, but her voice broke slightly when she spoke again.
"You okay? You were kinda…out of it for a while." Rachel shrugged.
"Yes, I'm fine. I just remembered something and was caught off guard, that's all. No need for you to worry." Puck raised an eyebrow and folded his arms.
"Oh… what did you remember that made you look like you saw a freakin ghost?" Ghost? More like the last person I'd expect to see… Rachel shook her head quickly and started turning around.
"It's nothing, really, you don't need to worry." Shit. She mentally scolded herself for saying anything that could make Puck ask questions. She had just met the guy, and she wasn't sure she was comfortable enough talking about her past with Santana to him. Puck looked unconvinced but stopped asking questions, and led the way to the lunchroom.
When they reached it, Puck gave Rachel's schedule back to her and left to go to a table full of other jocks. Rachel sighed and looked around to look for empty spots when she sees Mercedes standing up and waving to her. Rachel smiled and walked over to the table and when Mercedes is about to introduce her to everyone, a boy in designer clothes speaks up.
"What are you wearing?" Rachel looked down at her clothes, she didn't see anything wrong with her argyle sweaters, plaid skirts, knee high socks, and loafers. She liked them and they were comfortable.
"Um…clothes, like you." Rachel looked up and the boy just shook his head.
"No, your clothes and my clothes are nothing alike. You clothes are-"
"Just ignore Kurt, Rachel," Mercedes cuts in. Kurt just sighed in defeat and went back to his food. "Anyway, that's Kurt Hummel. He's a bit of a diva."
"Oh please Mercedes, I just have good fashion sense and like to show off my vocals. Plus, clothes are an essential." Mercedes just rolled her eyes with a smile before pointing to the other two people at the table.
"That's Tina," She pointed to a gothic Asian girl who waved at Rachel. "And Artie," A boy in a wheelchair waved at her as well before going back to his food. "And you met me already." Rachel nodded and when Mercedes sat down she did the same. She put her bags and looked around the cafeteria until she finally spotted Santana sitting with a group of cheerios.
Rachel frowned when she noticed none of them were eating, instead choosing to drink the same thing, whatever it was. Santana had her head in her hand glaring at the table top while all the other cheerios were talking to one another. The blond next to Santana sat close to the Latina, speaking softly compared to the rest of the table.
"Must be nice, huh?" Rachel snapped her head back at Mercedes.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"The Cheerios," Tina said. "They practically rule the school, other than the Jocks."
"Yeah, but some Jocks and Cheerios are in Glee Club." Artie said. Rachel suddenly remembered what Mercedes said in the bathroom. She did like singing, even before the death of her fathers, and she sung occasionally after they died. After she left the orphanage.
"Like who?" Rachel asked. Santana was on that cheerleading team called the Cheerios, right?
"Finn," Kurt said, looking at the boy with a rather dreamy look. Rachel turned around to see a freakishly tall boy with a childish face laughing with a few other boys. Mercedes elbowed Kurt, causing him to jump and break his gaze away from Finn to glare at her. "Anyway," He gave Mercedes a final glare before turning back to Rachel. "There's Matt, Mike, and Puck."
"Noah Puckerman?" Rachel asked, surprised. She didn't expect the Mohawked boy to be a singer.
"Yeah, you met him?" Artie asked and Rachel nodded.
"There's three Cheerios in Glee Club too," Tina said, looking at the table of Cheerios. "There's Quinn, Brittany, and Santana." Rachel felt herself freeze slightly at the mention of her name again.
"Santana Lopez?" Rachel asked more softly than she meant, hoping she remembered Santana's last name right.
"That's the one, she sleeps with a lot of the guys at school," Artie said. "Well, she hasn't slept with me, but whatever," Tina gave him a sympathetic smile and he smiled back.
"Hey, Mr. Schuester's looking for someone to be in Glee Club, maybe you should." Mercedes said and everyone else nodded. Rachel thought about it and looked at Santana again, who hadn't moved at all. Yes, she would join the club. If only to get closer to Santana again.
The rest of the lunch period was spent with Rachel talking to mostly Tina and Artie, since Mercedes and Kurt were busying gossiping about people she didn't even know. When the bell rang she got up and went to the rest of her classes. Some of the people she had met earlier were in some of them, including Puck, who each gave her a wave when they saw her. It was the last period when she saw Santana again.
The girl was sitting at her desk, and next to her was the blond cheerios from Spanish class. Santana, who had been looking down, looked up when Rachel walked in and through her arms up in frustration. People around her looked at her oddly and they all received a glare which made them look down in fear. Santana slammed her head down again and the blond cheerio looked up at Rachel. Luckily, class started and after the teacher introduced Rachel she was sent to an empty desk in the front of the room.
"Fucking great. This is not my freakin day, fuck this…" Santana had been muttering the same mantra over and over until she looked up at her friend. "Can you fucking believe this Quinn?" Before Quinn could answer, Santana slammed her head down again. "No, you fucking can't. Cuz this is just fucking great, just not my-"
"God, will you just shut up," Quinn hissed while looking at the front with a bored look. She honestly had enough of hearing Santana complain. The Latina had been complaining since Spanish class about the new girl. "I don't even know why you're making a big deal out of this."
"She took Britt's seat." Was all Santana said, and Quinn raised an eyebrow at her friend.
"So? Brittany's coming back tomorrow."
"Stupid ducks making her absent…" Quinn looked from the board to the new girl writing notes. Quinn didn't mind her so much, normally when someone tried to talk to Santana while she was pissed, Quinn thought they were stupid or just wanting to get punched. But she was new, so Quinn could forgive her just that once.
"Why do you hate her? I mean, she's kinda of a midget but…"
"She's a fucking smurf," Quinn's lip twitched upward at Santana's wording. "She's just…" Santana looked up from her desk and at the back of Rachel. "I just do." Was all she said before slamming her head down again. Quinn made a humming noise as she continued to stare at the short brunette, and couldn't help but think that things were going to get interesting.
Rachel had to stop herself from shivers as she sat through the class. She knew Santana and her friend were staring, and she wished the class would end as each second passed by. When the bell rang, she let out a heavy sigh and looked at the door to see Santana charging out the door, with Quinn walking lazily behind her, not even bothering to try to keep up.
Rachel slowly stood up and walked out of the class. It was only the first day, but she was exhausted more than she thought she would have. When she got to her locker, she looked at her phone to see a text from Shelby.
I'm sorry baby, but I can't pick you up after school." Rachel should have expected something like this already, especially since the reason she was in Lima was because her mother was never home, but it didn't make the feeling of disappointment and sadness go away.
She had met a small group of people, but she wasn't sure if she could get a ride from them. Looking at the text again, she put away a few things in her locker and closed it, preparing herself for the walk home.
As she walked through the slowly emptying halls, she heard the Mr. Schuester voice talking about music selections and the top artists. Rachel stopped and looked at the open doors ahead. Her knotted her eyebrows together as she thought about earlier, remembering Mercedes had said something about a Glee Club.
Glee Club… Rachel thought about who was in that club when her eyes suddenly lit up. Santana! Slowly she walked towards the open door and walked in to see Mr. Schuester at the white board about to write something down and multiple students sitting on chairs, half of which she had already met. Mercedes saw her and raised her hand in a wave.
"Hey Rachel!" Everyone turned from the board to the doorway and stared at Rachel. Rachel squirmed a bit under their gaze and looked at Santana, who had her head in her hands saying something rather angrily in Spanish, while Quinn just looked amused. Mr. Schuester looked at Rachel and smiled warmly at her.
"Hey, Rachel." He greeted, putting the marker down and walking over to her.
"Hello, ." She greeted, looking up at him and smiled warmly.
"Mr. Schue is fine," He said and looked at Mercedes. "So, I heard you were interested in Glee Club?" He looked back down at Rachel, and she looked back at Santana, who had a scowl on her face and glaring at the floor.
"Yes," She said and looked back up at Mr. Schuester with a wide smile. Maybe getting to Santana was going to be easier than she thought. "Yes, I am."
"Great!" Mr. Schuester smiled widely when heard Rachel's answer, and then walked over to the piano. "Is there something you would like to sing, or should I pick?"
"Um," Rachel went through her head as she thought of songs she could sing, before she smiled widely. "No, it's okay, I have something in mind," Mr. Schuester nodded and Rachel went to the front of the choir room. "It's On My Way To You by Barbra Streisand." Rachel took a deep breath began singing, looking at Santana quickly before looking at everyone else. As she sang half of the club looked shocked at the strong voice coming out of Rachel's small body, while the other half looked indifferent.
Rachel looked at Santana again, to find her staring at her wide-eyed. Their eyes locked with each other and they held it for a few seconds before Santana looked down again with a scowl. Rachel looked up to see Mercedes trying to smile widely but her mouth was twitching downward with jealousy every once in a while, along with Kurt. She looked at Puck, who was just grinning and gave her a thumbs up. When the song ended Mr. Schuester jumped up in excitement as he clapped, causing the rest to clap with him.
"Rachel, that was great!" Rachel muttered a thank you as she looked down at the ground. "Why don't you sit next to Finn for now?" Rachel looked to where Mr. Schuester pointed and saw the tall boy from before. Rachel nodded and made her way over there, and when she sat down Finn turned to her with a dopey grin.
"So, you're name's Rachel?" Finn asked, and Rachel nodded. "That's cool, I'm Finn Hudson."
"It's nice to meet you, Finn." Rachel said, and Finn nodded. They were silent for a few moments, before Finn turned to her again.
"Hey, you know, you totally got a good voice. We should be, like, leads together." Rachel was about to respond, but Finn raised his hand. "Mr. Schue?" Mr. Schuester turned around and smiled at the boy.
"Yes, Finn?"
"I think me and Rachel should be the leads." Rachel wanted to slap the boy. She wasn't interested in the singing; she could do that at home. The only reason she joined was because Santana was in it, and she wasn't sure she could discreetly watch the Latina if she was singing in front of everyone with Finn and having them all stare at her. Rachel couldn't help but sink further in her seat and scowl at the idea.
Apparently, Mr. Schuester didn't get the hint from her expression, and his face lit up.
"That's a wonderful idea Finn," Finn nodded and grinned back at Rachel. "Does everyone else think so?" The rest of the Glee club nodded, a few grumbled at the fact that they weren't lead, but it was pretty much unanimous. "Great! Well, congratulations Rachel." Rachel forced a smile at the teacher, and he went back to the board talking about music selections, and Finn attempting small talk nearly all during the period.
When the bell rang she stood up, and Finn quickly did the same. She knew he was tall, but she didn't think he was that much of a giant until she stood next to him, and she instinctively took a step back. Finn, though, didn't seem to notice and took a step forward again.
"So, Rachel," He said, and Rachel smiled slightly. "Do you wanna hang out later, and work on some songs together? I think we'd be awesome."
"I actually have to get home, so I'll just see you tomorrow. Bye, Finn." She turned around and began walking towards the door.
"Wait, are you sure? Maybe I can give you a ride." He called back, but Rachel had already gone through the door and was walking away quickly. When she turned the corner she stopped walking to collect herself for a bit when she felt someone tap her shoulder. She jumped and turned around, then let out a sigh of relief to see it was Puck.
"Oh, it's just you…" Puck grinned and looked back to see Finn walking the opposite way from them.
"I kinda felt bad for you when Hudson didn't take the hint," Puck grinned and laughed lightly. "I told him you went the other way and he's over there looking for you. I wonder how long he'll look."
"That wasn't nice."
"Aw c'mon, don't be lame. You know you wanna laugh." Rachel couldn't help but grin.
"Well, it is slightly funny."
"See?" Puck grabbed his keys from his pocket and held them out in front of her. "Need a ride?" Rachel nodded and they went to the parking lot, to Puck's car. After they settled in the car and Rachel told him directions to her house, they sat in comfortable silence until Puck spoke up.
"So," He said, looking at Rachel out of the corner of his eye. "Where'd you move here from?"
"New York." Puck let out a whistle.
"Damn, I feel bad for you then." Rachel looked at him questioningly.
"Why?"
"Cuz to go from an awesome city like New York, to freaking Lima, Ohio, has gotta suck," Rachel just shrugged and looked out the window. "Was New York cool?" Rachel sighed and leaned her head against the window. She supposed living in a famous city did have its perks, but the one thing she wanted out of everything was a family.
She couldn't say she snuck out with friends to clubs, since she never had many friends. She did at times go to the landmark places New York was known for when she went on walks, and a few places tourists didn't know about. But the city also took away her only living relative, Shelby.
She remembered her first few years after Shelby picked her up from the orphanage, she was around, and acting like the mother Rachel never had. But slowly she was around less and less, and soon enough Rachel was alone again. And that time, she didn't have Santana.
"It was okay." Puck frowned and but didn't say anything else, causing the rest of the drive to be in silence. When they reached Rachel's house and the she made to leave, Puck gently grabbed her arm, causing her stop and look up.
"You got a phone?" Rachel nodded and he held out his hand. Hesitantly, she took it out and gave it to him.
"Do you even know how to-" Puck gave her back her cell phone with a grin and she looked to see his name in her phonebook. "Well, that was fast."
"Text me later today, or I'll bug you about it tomorrow." Rachel smiled and nodded.
"Okay, only because I don't want you to bother me nonstop tomorrow, because that would just be annoying," Puck let go of her arm and Rachel slid out of her seat. "Bye, Noah, thanks for the ride." Puck nodded and watched as Rachel walked to her front door and made it safely inside. As soon as she was inside he started to drive away from her house, making sure to get home as fast as he could and text Rachel. She hadn't said anything, but he knew there was something about her, and he was going to find out.
Rachel closed the door behind her and leaned against it for a few seconds, closing her eyes. She opened her eyes again and ran up the stairs, two steps at a time. When she walked to her bedroom she recklessly threw her backpack on her bed and went straight for the drawer. She fell on her knees and opened the bottom drawer, digging through the clothes until she found what she was looking for. Standing up, she held the small yellow ball in both her hands, as if it was made of glass instead of rubber.
She laid down on her bed and brought the ball up to the air, turning in her hand to look at all the stars. Suddenly, her eyes started stinging and she felt wetness run down her cheeks. She brought her free hand up, wiped her cheek, then held it in front of her face to see her fingertips wet, surprised she had started crying.
She closed her eyes and brought the ball down on her lips, gently kissing it. Suddenly her body shook as she sobbed quietly, and she turned on her side, away from the door. She curled herself up in a ball and gripped the ball in one hand and the pillow in the other, crying herself to sleep.