A/N: Here's the next chapter. I hope its not going too slow for everyone, but anyway, thanks for all the reviews, they mean a lot, especially since I never thought I'd get this many or that a lot of people would read it. So thank you to everyone that reviewed. I might make an artwork for this story, but don't know yet. This is becoming a long author's note, so I'll let you all read now.
The rest of the weekend was spent at Puck's house, Rachel remembered where Santana's house was, but she wasn't sure if she should go back. She thought of Santana kicking her out of the house, or ignoring her and those were the last things she wanted to happen. The next week, when she was at her locker putting book away, one fell onto the floor. She sighed and kneeled down to pick it up at the same time as someone else. They both paused with their hands over the book and Rachel looked up to see it was Santana in front of her. Santana smiled nervously before picking it up and standing. Rachel stayed on the floor and just stared at Santana, who cleared her throat and began playing with the book nervously.
"Um…are you going to get up or…?" Rachel jumped slightly and stood up. Santana reached over and placed Rachel's book in her locker for her. Rachel smiled at Santana and closed her locker before turning to Santana.
"Hello, Santana, how are you?" Santana sighed and leaned against the lockers as she folded her arms.
"Fine, look, Berry, sorry about falling asleep on you." Rachel just shrugged.
"It's okay, you seemed tired." Santana nodded and rubbed her head nervously.
"Yeah but…listen, how about after practice you head to my house?" Rachel smiled and nodded.
"That would be-" But she never finished her sentence when a slushy hit her and she gasped in surprise. She rubbed her eyes and when she opened them, she saw Santana scowling as she tried to wipe off some of the blue slushy that had fallen on Santana's Cheerios shirt as well. Rachel immediately ignored the slushy on her and looked at Santana worriedly. "Santana, are you okay?" Santana snapped her head up and Rachel jumped back a little bit, half expecting Santana to be angry at her. Instead, Santana turned her head and glared at karofsky, who still had the empty slushy in his head and looked fearfully.
"What the hell!" Santana yelled loudly, getting the attention of everyone in the hallway. Karofsky raised his hands up in defense and Santana slapped the cup out of his hands. "I was in the middle of a fucking conversation."
"I was just aiming for Manhands, I swear." Karofsky said, already backing up. Santana clenched her fists and began walking forward until she felt a small hand on her wrist. Santana stopped walking and looked at Rachel, who was looking at her with pleading eyes.
"Santana, let's just clean up, it's not worth it." Santana gave Karofsky one last glare before heading to the bathroom. Everyone in the hallway quickly looked away and got out of her way with Rachel following closely behind.
Once they got to the bathroom Santana yanked a paper towel out of the dispenser and wet it. As she dabbed at her Cheerios uniform, Rachel walked to the seat next to her and began washing her hair as best she could.
"Fuck, I really hope coach doesn't find out about this," Santana muttered, getting the last of the stains out. "If only it was red…"
"I'm sorry you had to deal with having slushy on you, next time you should just stay away from me." Rachel said, concentrating on her hair. Santana looked up and blinked before looking at Rachel.
"What?" Rachel sighed and opened her backpack and grabbed a towel. She dried it with the towel and raised her head to whip her hair back, and continued drying it as she turned to Santana.
"Face it, I'm just a loser in their eyes, I'm not even the "new kid" anymore, just a loser to everyone," Including you. Rachel added silently. She was hopeful, not stupid. She knew Santana was on the Cheerios, the highest on the food chain, next to the football players. Rachel, on the other hand, was on the lowest. She was pretty sure Jacob Ben Israel was above her in the social ladder of McKinley High and he couldn't even get near the Cheerios without being thrown into the dumpster. Rachel shook and put her towel away before throwing the backpack over her shoulder. "The only reason we're even talking right now is because of Glee." With that, Rachel walked passed Santana and left, leaving Santana confused.
The rest of the day she was eerily quiet and avoided Santana. Puck gave her a worried look every time he saw her and when he asked what was wrong, she just shrugged saying she was just tired. Puck stopped asking after the fourth time she said that, but he still kept a watchful eye on her. After school she stood in front of her locker staring at the inside of it, wondering if she should go to Glee. She sighed and closed it, realizing she couldn't avoid Santana forever. When she closed her locker and turned around, she saw Jacob Ben Israel in front of her with a camera and mic. Rachel groaned and walked past him, but he followed her anyway.
"So, Rachel Berry," He said, speaking into the mic. "I heard from a reliable source that you're from the famous city of New York," Rachel groaned and just knew someone from Glee told him, except Puck, who she trusted enough not to tell anyone her secrets. "I think I speak for all of McKinley why someone would move here from New York, and since you are the new student with nothing known about you, a lot of people want to know." Rachel was glad when Jacob finally closed his mouth but groaned again when he shoved the mic in front of her face.
"How about, no comment, so would you please leave me alone now?" She quickened her pace, but Jacob just kept up with her.
"Some people are saying you were in Juvie in New York and you're here as punishment," Rachel rolled her eyes at the ridiculous rumor. "You're quiet the mystery, and I think it adds a coolness to you…" Jacob moved one of his hands and Rachel gasped when she felt him grab her butt. She stopped immediately and whipped around.
"Jacob Ben Israel, don't touch me again, or I promise you you'll regret it." Jacob pulled his hand away and smiled creepily at Rachel.
"I don't think anything with you involved can make me regret anything, you're just so beautiful." Rachel slowly backed away and shook her head.
"Just stay away from me." As she turned around Jacob reached his hand out again.
"Rachel, please wait." He pleaded and when his hand touched her shoulder he felt himself be shoved into the lockers before she could even turn around again. When she did, she saw Puck pushing Jacob against the locker and the other boy having a terrified look on his face.
"Touch her again," Puck spoke harshly, making Jacob squirm, which only resulted in Puck pulling Jacob away from the lockers before slamming him into it again. "And I'll end you." Rachel looked around to see the school staring at them, just waiting for a fight to happen. She ran to Puck and tried to pull his arms away from Jacob's shirt.
"Noah, stop." Puck looked at Rachel before giving Jacob a death glare.
"No one messes with my bro, got it?" Jacob nodded and Puck let him go. Puck grabbed Rachel's arm lightly and the two walked away and Jacob immediately ran in the opposite direction. Puck shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at the floor and Rachel nervously played with the hem of her skirt while the two walked in silence. Before they turned around the corner to go to the choir room, Puck stopped Rachel.
"Sorry about that." Rachel smiled and shook her head.
"It's fine, thank you for helping me out there though." Puck smiled back and nodded.
"No one messes with my friends. One time he was messing with the guys on the football team and I made sure he stopped, another time he tried to mess with Brittany when Santana wasn't here and I threw him in the dumpster." Rachel laughed a little bit.
"You're a good friend." Puck shrugged and kicked the floor embarrassedly.
"Nah, it was nothing. I just get pissed when he messes with people, especially my friends." Rachel laughed and started pulling him towards the choir room.
"Tell me more about how you heroically save those that fall victim from Jacob." Puck rolled his eyes.
"You make it sound better than it is." The two walked into Glee with Puck talking about he saved everyone from dealing with Jacob, and Rachel thought it was pretty sweet of him, despite how much he claimed he was a badass when she voiced it out loud. As they took their seats Rachel looked over to the other side of the chairs, where Santana was sitting with Brittany, clearly upset. Rachel quickly looked away before Santana could look her way, and she turned to see Kurt and Mercedes walk in.
"Hi, Rachel." Kurt greeting, moving to sit on the other side of Rachel with Mercedes next to him.
"Hello, Kurt, Mercedes." Rachel said, looking straight ahead with her arms crossed. Kurt and Mercedes looked at each other confused.
"Um, what's up?" Mercedes asked.
"Did you two happen to tell Jacob about New York?"
"Jacob overheard me and Mercedes talking about our dreams in New York," Kurt had a dreamy look when he mentioned his dreams and forced himself back to reality with the shake of his head before continuing. "And we talked about you and Jacob overheard and started being creepy." Kurt scowled as he thought of his experience with Jacob.
"Seriously, that boy would not shut up about you, I think he likes you." Mercedes said with an equally disgusted look. Rachel sighed.
"Well, I found out how much he likes me when he kept trying to molest me in the hall," Mercedes and Kurt gave Rachel a concerned look and Rachel continued. "But Noah came so it was fine."
"Next time I'll beat the shit outta him, no one messes with my bro." Puck said with a proud grin. Just then Finn walked in and frowned when he noticed both the seats next to Rachel were taken. He looked at Kurt and grinned before walking up to him.
"Hey Kurt," Finn said and Kurt looked up. "Wanna trade seats with me?" Kurt looked between Kurt, Mercedes, and Rachel, and Finn pointed to the empty seat next to Mercedes. "That one's free." Kurt nodded and moved seats, letting Finn sit next to Rachel. He sat down and leaned next to her, giving her his dopey grin.
"Hey, Rachel." Rachel sighed.
"Hello, Finn."
"Can't wait to hear you sing." Finn said, leaning closer to Rachel. Rachel sighed and leaned back in her chair, waiting for Mr. Schuester to come in. When he did, he separated everyone with their partners, Santana crossed her arms and legs, purposely looking away from Rachel. When Brittany started getting up to walk to Artie, Santana gently pulled her down and gave Artie a death glare, making him wheel himself to the farthest corner of the room. Quinn looked at Santana with a confused look and stayed sitting down, looking between Santana and Rachel. Rachel sighed and stayed in her seat until Puck got up and suddenly pulled her up and over his shoulder, making Rachel squeak loudly and getting everyone's attention.
"Puck, what are you doing?" Mr. Schuester asked when he looked up from his papers. Finn gapped at Puck and quickly stood in front of him.
"Hey, man, what's the big deal?" Puck snorted and both of them, and rolled his eyes when he noticed Finn move his eyes from staring at Puck to Rachel's ass.
"Out of the way, Finnocence," He pushed Finn out of the way and called back to Mr. Schuester. "Don't worry Mr. Schue, I'll bring her back." Rachel scoffed and crossed her arms as she hung over Puck's shoulder and looked away embarrassedly as everyone watched her. Once they were outside the door Puck set her down and Rachel kept her arms crossed, glaring at him.
"Alright, spit it out." Puck said, crossing his arms to mimic Rachel.
"Excuse me?" Puck rolled his eyes.
"What's going on between you and Santana? She looked pretty pissed and you looked depressed as hell all day."
"Nothing I-" Puck tilted his head and glared at her. Rachel sighed and tried again. "I had a…disagreement with her." Puck groaned.
"What kind of disagreement." Rachel frowned and rubbed her neck.
"Well, I may have blown up at her face in the bathroom…" Puck opened his mouth to say something, but Rachel cut him off. "She doesn't even want to talk to me, let alone be my friend. She'll never remember me, not the old me she was friends with…" Rachel's voice died out and she looked down sadly. Puck stared at her for a few seconds, letting her sulk, before slapping her across the head loudly, making her wince and grab her head in pain. "Wha-"
"You're my Jewish Princess and all, but damn you're being pretty dumb right now," Rachel looked offended and opened her mouth to speak, but Puck held up his finger. "Shut it," He spoke harshly, making her close her mouth instantly. "If Santana wanted nothing to do with you, she wouldn't have even let you near her, let alone her house. And I've seen her walking to you in the halls, so I'm pretty sure she doesn't hate you or want anything to do with you." Puck crossed his arms again and Rachel blinked.
"Oh…" She said. Rachel thought about it, realizing Puck was right. She looked up and smiled at Puck. "Thank you, I needed that."
"No problem," Puck said with a nod. He wrapped his arm around her neck somewhat tightly, making her try to pull his arm away. "Now go apologize before I kick your ass." Rachel grinned and Puck pulled her in with both of them laughing. The choir room became quiet again and they stopped and looked up at everyone.
"What?" They both said in unison, making everyone turn back their attention to their partner. Puck dragged Rachel towards Santana, stopping right in front of the Latina, who looked up at him with a scowl.
"What do you two want?" Puck grinned and let go of Rachel, only to push her right into Santana, hard. Santana and Rachel gasped in surprise, and Santana raised her arms just as Rachel crashed into her lap. They both looked up to Puck, who was already walking away. Rachel sighed and looked at Santana. Santana turned away from glaring at the back of Puck's head to Rachel and started getting slightly red.
Rachel didn't realize the position they were in until much later, and when she did she blushed too. Rachel was sitting right on Santana's lap, and Santana's hands were loosely wrapped around Rachel, making their faces centimeters apart. Santana cleared her throat and Rachel jumped and quickly scrambled off of Rachel. Rachel stood awkwardly in front of Santana, who started looking between Brittany and Quinn.
"Um…guys, you mind?" Brittany smiled and jumped up.
"Sure Santana, whatever you need," She skipped to Quinn and grabbed both of her hands. "C'mon, Quinn, let's go." Quinn gave Santana and Rachel one last look as she let herself be pulled by Brittany. Rachel took Brittany's seat and watched Brittany drag Quinn to Artie with her and cling to the shorter blonde.
"Santana," Rachel began, playing with the hem of her skirt nervously. "I'm sorry about what I said earlier, I didn't mean it." Santana scoffed.
"Whatever, you're right anyway; I'm just the heartless bitch cheerleader and you're a loser, after all, it's just because of Glee that we're talking." Santana said, copying Rachel's words from earlier. Rachel sighed and turned towards Santana a little.
"I'm really sorry, I just…freaked." Santana groaned and turned towards Rachel too.
"About what?" Santana asked and Rachel looked out at everyone.
"I don't know, it's just-you don't know what it's like to get slushied everyday, and then have someone popular like you be talking to me," Rachel looked back at Santana and smiled sadly. "I was just afraid that this is the only reason why, that you wouldn't want me for anything else. That I was just nothing to you." Santana frowned and rubbed her forehead.
"Look, if I apologized for fucking sleeping on you, obviously you're not nothing to me." Rachel smiled at Santana.
"Really?"
"Well, you dress like a grandma," Santana said, motioning towards her clothes. "And you're a midget, and a loser I guess, even though you look like you're best friends or something with Puck, but you're pretty okay."
"Really?" Santana rolled her eyes.
"Is that all you're saying now?" Rachel gave Santana a nervous laugh.
"No…" Santana stared at Rachel with an unreadable expression and Rachel got worried until Santana smiled and shook her head. Santana got up and motioned Rachel to do the same.
"Come on, let's get to work." Rachel smiled and got up happily, and when she started working with Santana, her eyes met with Puck's and he gave her a wink that made her grin in silent thanks.