A/N OMG. I AM SO SORRY THAT THIS IS SO LATE. Basically, my beta was busy, I was busy blah blah blah. It's been a rough week so yeah... This is pretty angst so yeah.. sorry! Maybe I should change the genre from 'humour' to 'drama'... What do you guys think? I'm hoping that Chap. 9 will be on time but I'm not sure... I might start posting every Sunday or something because it is easier. Thanks to all the alerts this story has gotten! I'm really surprised at how many people are reading this! Thanks to all you lovely reviewers- I *still* haven't gotten round to replying to all of them :O SORRY! I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH. Enjoy... :D

Chapter 8

Rachel hummed to herself happily as she walked through the nearly empty school corridors. Her weekend had been filled with homework and singing practise, but her date with Sebastian on Friday evening had gone so well that she was still on her post-date high. She literally felt like skipping through the corridors and singing at the top of her voice: she was that happy, and she couldn't wait to see Sebastian again. They had texted over the weekend, but they both didn't have time to have a proper conversation because she was so busy with schoolwork and singing, and he was busy with lacrosse, (which was ridiculously hot), as well as schoolwork.

As she approached her locker she saw an unwelcome figure lurking by- someone, she was sure, that could kill her buzz in an instant. She looked around anxiously, looking for an escape but there was nowhere and anyway, he had noticed her anyway. She strode forward confidently, ignoring the unwelcome boy and opening her locker to grab her bag and shove in her books, hoping to make a quick escape.

'Rachel.'

She sighed and reluctantly met the boy's eyes, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. She took a deep breath to compose herself and looked at the boy straight in the eye, not wanting to show him any form of weakness.

'Finn.'

She roughly slammed her locker shut and crossed her arms across her chest, annoyed that Finn had to be there at that exact moment when she was feeling so much happier than normal.

'What do you want?' Rachel asked after a few awkward moments of silence, her tone monotone and bored.

'Are you fucking kidding me?' Finn's tone was forceful and made Rachel visibly flinch. 'You are such a slut, willing to fuck any guy who wants you. I can't believe you've been fucking Kurt behind my back, even when we were dating and now you're fucking other guys. You are such a whore. I was only with you because I was sorry for you- I never loved you. I mean, you are a nobody and people only want to use you for a quick fuck. Nothing more.'

Every one of Rachel's ex-boyfriend's words cut through her, leaving her an emotional wreck. She couldn't even stop the heart-breaking sobs that wracked through her body, causing her to stagger to the ground and curl up into a ball. She heard Finn laughing cruelly at her pain, and for a moment she believed what he was saying. She just wanted him to stop. She just wanted him to go away and leave her alone. But he didn't.

'You aren't good enough, Rachel. No one wants you. Not even your dads,' Finn's tone was mocking, degrading her two favourite people in the world, making them worthless. 'No, of course your dads wouldn't want you. Who would? Kurt? No. He's using you as well. Your new boyfriend? He just wants to fuck you and leave you. You will never succeed in life. You. Are. A. Loser.'

Finn punctuated each word with a kick to the lockers next to Rachel, causing her to cower in fear and curl even more into herself.

'Rachel?'

A different but familiar voice cut through her sorrowful tears, causing her to look up. She cowered away even further, trying to escape but feeling too weak to even move further than a couple centimetres.

It was Sebastian.

'Is this your new boyfriend?' Finn's mocking voice made her tears fall faster and her heart break faster.

'Rach? Babe, are you… are you okay?'

It was Sebastian's soft voice again. Rachel looked up, her vision blurry from the amount of tears she had shed. She whimpered when she saw Finn glaring down at her and covered her face with her small hands.

'What the fuck did you do to her?' Sebastian shouted, coming closer to Rachel and crouching down, almost like he was protecting her. When Finn didn't answer, Sebastian stood up again and stormed over to where Rachel's ex-boyfriend was standing.

'What the fuck is wrong with you? What the fuck did you do to her? Answer me, you fucking coward!' Sebastian's voice was rising in volume and it was growing even angrier, if that was even possible. Rachel heard the sound of a foot kicking against the locker, and she glanced up. Sebastian's face was thunderous and he looked ready to explode with anger, while Finn looked terrified, almost like a deer caught in the headlights. Another uncontrollable sob wracked through her body, and Sebastian turned towards her, his expression softening immediately.

'Get the fuck out of her before I beat the fucking shit out of you.' Sebastian gave one last cold glare to the other boy before running towards the sobbing girl. Rachel heard a door slam shut in the distance and knew that Finn had left them both.

'Hey, hey,' Sebastian cooed softly, cradling the petite girl's body against his tall frame. Rachel couldn't stop the tears from streaming down her face and she buried her face into his Dalton blazer.

'Shh, shh,' Sebastian stroked her hair lovingly, 'I'm here now, it's okay. Shh, shh.'

Rachel clenched her eyes shut, trying to will herself to stop crying but it was hopeless. Everything Finn had said was everything she was the most insecure about, and she couldn't help but actually take some of his words as the truth. Even more tears streamed down her face and small, helpless whimpers were the only sounds she made.

'Hey, hey, Rach, babe, please don't cry!' Sebastian pleaded her, his voice wavering slightly. 'I'm not going to hurt you; I won't let anyone hurt you. Shh, shh.'

Sebastian held the crying girl as her sobs subsided and the two remained in the same position for endless minutes as she calmed herself down.

'Hey, Rach?' Sebastian asked the girl uncertainly after she had stopped crying. Rachel looked up and Sebastian felt like punching Finn at the lost, terrified look in her wide, brown eyes. 'What…what did he say?'

Rachel's eyes grew wider and she visibly swallowed as if to swallow her tears. Her eyes darted around the corridor worriedly and her small frame started to shake slightly in Sebastian's firm but gentle grip.

'Do you wanna go somewhere else, babe?' Sebastian sensed the girl's discomfort at being in the same place as where she had been verbally abused. His voice was soft and smooth, and Rachel felt safer just listening to it. She gave a small nod while Sebastian soothingly stroked her back, rubbing small, comforting circles as if to remind her that he was there for her.

'Honey, do you want me to carry you?' the taller boy asked Rachel after she made no effort to get up or move from his arms. She shook her head quickly and stood up slowly, all the while clutching Sebastian's hand as if it was a lifeline. 'Are you sure? Rach, it's fine. I can carry you if you want.' Rachel shook her head with more vigour, but didn't loosen her grip on Sebastian's hand. He stroked her small hand with his thumb and led her out the doors to where his car was, pulling Rachel closer to shield her from prying eyes from students who hadn't left the school yet. Rachel didn't seem to notice anyone else apart from Sebastian, and he wanted to leave it that way.

When they reached his car, Rachel whimpered softly when Sebastian tried to release their joined hands. Sebastian realised that Rachel needed this physical contact so as not to break down again, so he sat her down in the front seat and buckled her in tenderly, whilst constantly soothing her with his voice. Rachel just looked so vulnerable with tearstains on her cheeks and wide, terrified eyes. He gently released his hand, ran around to the drivers seat, buckling himself in at the speed of light and joined his hand with Rachel's again.

Rachel had never felt so weak when Finn was ripping her apart with his hurtful words. She honestly thought that he was going to kick her and his face… His eyes were fiery with anger and it was almost like he was overcome with anger. Sebastian's warm hand was the only thing that seemed to keep her… sane? It stopped her from breaking apart completely and she never felt so glad that someone was there for her.

'Rach, we're here.'

Sebastian's kind voice interrupted her inner turmoil and she felt his hand squeeze her's affectionately. She looked at him and gave him a small smile as a way of thanks, not trusting her own voice. He gave her a smile in return, secretly pleased that now Rachel was at least reacting to his voice. He cautiously released their intertwined hands and breathed a sigh of relief that Rachel hadn't protested: as nice was the fact that Rachel was willingly holding his hand, she was cutting off his blood flow by her death grip on it.

Rachel slowly unbuckled herself and opened the door, stumbling slightly as her feet met the ground. Sebastian was there in an instant, a firm grip on her slim waist.

'Th-thank you,' Rachel whispered, so quiet that Sebastian would not have heard her unless all his attention was fixated on the trembling girl, which it was. He leant down and gave a tender kiss to the top of her head, stroking her side softly. The pair walked into the Lima Bean together, Sebastian's arm now curled loosely around Rachel's waist as she leaned into his soft grip. When the tall boy tried to walk towards the counter to order drinks for them both, Rachel shook her head frantically.

'C-can we sit d-down first?' Rachel was no longer whispering but her voice was still timid and scared.

'Whatever you want, babe,' Sebastian gave her a reassuring smile and held her hand to lead her to some seats. He sat in the seat opposite from her and held her hand under the table, sensing that Rachel needed some sort of physical contact to keep herself from breaking down.

'Rach, can... can you tell me what happened?' Sebastian said quietly, constantly rubbing small circles onto her tiny hands. Their hands seemed to fit together perfectly and he loved the way it felt to hold hands with someone like Rachel. Someone he cared about.

'Take your time, honey,' he cooed softly, 'we have loads of time. Don't rush it, okay?'

Rachel nodded slowly, finally trusting herself to speak. But before she could even open her mouth to say anything, her name was being called by someone else.

It was Kurt.

'Rach!' Kurt cried happily, practically running towards her. He suddenly stopped by her side when he noticed her tear stained face and hunched posture.

'Honey, what happened?'

He crouched down by her side; not even noticing Sebastian as all his attention was fixed onto his best friend. Sebastian coughed to grab Kurt's attention.

'She was actually going to tell me, but feel free to join us,' Sebastian's eyes held a warning sign as if to say 'don't push her.'

'Oh… Oh right. Thanks,' Kurt nodded in understanding and sat in the seat next to Rachel.

'Sorry, honey. I was just happy to see you,' Kurt smiled at his best friend and she gave a watery smile back to him, happy to see him as well.

'So… Um. I'll just… tell you everything, then,' Rachel's voice was quiet as she paused to gather her thoughts. Both boys gave her soft smiles and Sebastian squeezed her hand reassuringly.

'Okay. So, I was just, um, walking through the corridors when school had ended. But I was let out a bit late because I had talked to Mr. Shue about some Spanish thing and Spanish was my last lesson. So, yeah. I went to my, um, locker and I saw… someone…' Rachel's voice trailed off, terrified to even say his name. She took a deep breath and stared down at her lap before continuing. 'I saw… Finn. Yeah. I was Finn standing by my locker and I was so annoyed because it had been such a good couple of days, you know? Like, on Friday I had a date. A proper date. Not a prank or something stupid- but a date with someone who actually liked me. And it had gone so well! And I was still happy all through the weekend and Monday, like I was still on my buzz and I was so happy!'

Rachel bit her lip and tried to stop her tears. Sebastian held her hand tighter, his heart jumping at the fact that Rachel was as happy as he was about their date. It had gone amazingly well and Sebastian was literally buzzing the whole weekend at the fact that he had found someone like Rachel.

'Anyway… Um. Yeah. So, Finn was there by my locker. And I greeted him… Kind of. And I asked him what he wanted because he wasn't even speaking! He was just standing there in my personal space. And then… And then…' Rachel took a shuddering breath and clenched her eyes shut tightly. Kurt pulled his chair in closer and rubbed her arm soothingly while Sebastian clutched her hand tighter.

'And then…' Rachel's voice dropped and she visibly swallowed, 'He started shouting. He told me that I was… That I was a wh-whore and a s-slut and that I was f-fucking K-kurt behind h-his back even when w-we were d-dating.' Silent tears were now streaming down Rachel's face as she continued, not looking up from her lap. Kurt's eyes were wide and the dislike he already felt toward his stepbrother turned to hatred and Sebastian was trying to stop himself from running out of the Lima Bean and punching the living crap out of the shit that was Finn.

'H-he said that h-he never l-loved me a-and that h-he was only w-with m-me because he f-felt s-sorry f-for me. But I d-don't understand. I g-gave him e-everything and I-I thought I l-loved him and t-that h-he l-loved me.'

Sebastian suddenly realized everything. Rachel had given her virginity to Finn. She thought he had loved her and that she loved him and she had given him the only thing she couldn't take back from him, and possibly the most precious thing that she had given him. Sebastian glanced at Kurt, who was literally shaking from anger, his eyes filled with hatred towards Finn and his hands shaking with the urge to punch his stepbrother.

'H-he then s-said that I was useless and n-nobody would e-ever want me. H-he told me that I w-was a nobody and j-just a quick f-fuck. H-he s-said th-that no one w-would ever l-love me a-and that even my d-dads didn't l-love me. H-he t-told m-me that you b-both w-were j-just u-using me as well.'

Rachel broke down again. Her body was trembling furiously and her hands were covering her face. Violent sobs wracked through her tiny body as she relived the disastrous confrontation with Finn.

Kurt felt like punching Finn repeatedly in his stupid face and knocking some sense into his non-existent brain. He had never hated someone like he hated Finn in that moment. How could he? What did Rachel ever do to him that would make him say something so heartless, so fucking cruel to her? Kurt could barely process what Finn had done to his best friend. His best friend who was one of the most compassionate, funniest, loving, kind, amazing, beautiful person he knew. How could Finn even say such disgusting lies to her? And make her believe them? On the outside she was strong but on the inside she was very insecure and Kurt knew that and it hurt him to think that someone would say those things to Rachel.

Sebastian felt like punching something. Someone. Preferably fucking Finn Hudson in the fucking face and make him fucking realize how much he fucking broke Rachel. Who in their right mind would ever say something like what he had fucking said to someone like Rachel? Was he living in somewhere fucking else? Was he fucking mental? Was he fucking blind? Rachel was amazing, beautiful, funny, not a whore, clever, talented, and the list could go on for fucking forever.

Kurt crouched by Rachel so that he could look up to her downturned face. He gently took her hands away from her tearstained face, holding them gently in his. He looked into her tear-filled eyes with his glassy blue ones.

'Hey, hey, honey,' Kurt's voice was soft and didn't betray his inner hatred towards Finn. Rachel needed him right now and she needed to be comforted. 'Rach. Look at me. You are none of the disgusting things that… that idiotic coward called you, okay? You are so beautiful, so talented, so amazing, so caring, so kind and I love you so much. Please don't believe him, please… You are too good for all of us. I don't deserve you as a best friend. I don't deserve you as the kind, talented, amazing friend that you are. None of us deserve you. Ohio doesn't deserve you: you should be in New York, living your dream. That's what you deserve. You do not deserve some idiot telling you lies about you and putting you down because he's just jealous of how loving, forgiving and kind you are. He's jealous that you don't care about him anymore because he didn't deserve the love you gave him. Rachel, you are better than him. You are better than all of us and I want you to believe me when I tell you that. I'm selfish enough to want you as my best friend and I cherish the fact that you stay by my side when so many others have given up on me. Please don't give up on yourself. Please. It hurts me when you're hurt and… Rach, please, just… don't believe him, okay?'

Tears were streaming down Kurt's face by the end of his speech and Rachel was sobbing silently in Kurt's arms. Sebastian was looking at the two friends with a stunned, emotional look in his eyes: even he could feel tears start to form in his eyes at Kurt's speech. Everything Kurt had said was true and Sebastian just hoped that Rachel believed every word he said. Sebastian was also partially shocked at seeing this emotional, caring and softer side of the normally bitchy Kurt that everyone else knew. It was shocking to see Kurt cry and see his normally so put-together demeanor fall apart.

Blaine had followed Kurt when he had run to Rachel when she had come in with Sebastian. Blaine could tell from just looking at the diva that something was wrong, and also seeing Sebastian look so angry and upset set alarm bells ringing in his brain. Blaine hung back, unsure of what to do in that situation when Sebastian was so obviously caught up in the brown-haired girl and Kurt needed to be there for her. He watched from a distance as Rachel told Kurt and Sebastian what had happened, and to be honest, he even felt like running out to the idiot who had practically beaten up the poor girl and beating him up, and so did Kurt and Sebastian, from the looks on their faces. Blaine had watched as Kurt had made his speech to the sobbing girl and he had watched as Kurt's beautiful eyes had spilled over with tears as he held his best friend. That was when Blaine couldn't stay away. Watching Kurt as he let out his emotions for his best friend and let down his bitchy walls, showing his true, emotional self was impossible to resist. Blaine had to get closer to the beautiful boy, physically and emotionally.

Blaine also couldn't help feeling a deep hatred to Kurt's stepbrother, Fred or something, as he had caused Kurt and Rachel's pain. What kind of coward would lash out at a girl- let alone his ex-girlfriend? From what Blaine could tell, Kurt's stepbrother had used Rachel and treated her like shit, as well as being a homophobe and a general dumbass. Blaine didn't actually know Rachel that well, but she seemed nice and obviously she was something special if Kurt cared about her that much. Blaine could see why Sebastian was attracted to her because she seemed to carry herself in a very prominent way, not arrogant, but noticeable. She seemed to know exactly what she wanted and that her mind was set on achieving her goals. She was definitely not a weak character, and Blaine knew that Sebastian was generally attracted to those kinds of people, who were often pretty hard to find in Lima, Ohio. Also, Blaine had to admit that she was pretty hot, even if she wasn't really his type.

'Hey, man.' Sebastian's soft voice shook Blaine out of his thoughts and back into the present time. Blaine nodded in his direction, but Sebastian didn't seem to notice as all his attention was back on Kurt's best friend. She was smiling weakly now at something Kurt was saying, and Blaine couldn't help his feelings towards Kurt grow stronger as he saw the loving way he treated his best friend. He watched as Kurt whispered reassurances and jokes into Rachel's ear and how Kurt managed to somehow crack a smile out of the girl who had been sobbing desperately not ten minutes beforehand. Blaine glanced at Sebastian who was staring at Rachel with a soft, adoring look in his normally hard or flirty eyes. It was strange to see his friend so unlike his normal self, and although Blaine had seen this side of Sebastian before- it always shocked him to see him like that.

Kurt sat into the chair next to Rachel and pulled it as close as possible to his best friend, who he finally managed to make smile. He kept a gentle hand on hers and turned to see Blaine and Sebastian staring at them both. He blushed at the intense, but caring look in Blaine's eyes, a look he had never seen before. Blaine didn't even wink at Kurt when he noticed his blush; instead he gave a him small smile and mouthed 'is she okay?' to him. He nodded and gave a soft smile back, before glancing back at Rachel. She caught his eye and squeezed his hand softly, a watery smile playing on her lips.

'Thank you.' Her voice was barely audible to Kurt, but he could hear the gratitude and adoration even so. His returning smile grew wider as he squeezed her hand and kissed her cheek.

When Kurt leaned back into his seat, he heard a cough from across the table. He looked up to see Sebastian with a worried but adoring look in his green eyes, staring right at Rachel.

'Rach… Are you… Are you okay?' Sebastian's voice was soft and kind and Rachel blushed at the raw emotion portrayed in his voice. She nodded and gave him a shy smile, suddenly feeling embarrassed at the fact that she had cried, no sobbed, in front of him and had initiated their hand-holding.

'Don't be embarrassed, babe,' Sebastian gave her a genuine smile as he continued, 'Kurt's right, y'know, that idiot was completely wrong. You did not deserve that, and I think that all of us here believe that.'

Rachel could feel tears start to form in her eyes again, even after she had thought she had cried all her tears. She felt so loved in that moment, being with three people who properly cared about her. She looked around at all three of the guys who all held the same worried look in their eyes and she gave a stronger smile to each of them, so grateful that they were there. There was Kurt, her best friend who was so much more to her than basically anyone else in the world. Then there was Sebastian who genuinely cared about her and actually liked her and was attracted to her, and finally there was Blaine who seemed really sweet and seemed to care about her as well.

'Thank you, all of you,' Rachel tried to put all her appreciation and love into her words, so that they would all feel as loved as she did at that moment. 'It really means so much to me that you actually care about me and are here for me. It's really amazing to have three people who I can look at and trust so easily. You guys haven't judged me or jumped to conclusions about me, but you actually try and figure me out. Well… two of you,' Rachel giggled as she looked at Blaine, 'but I can still tell that you care too, Blaine. And it means a lot. So, thank you so much, guys. You are all amazing and I care about each one of you, too.'

Kurt stood up and pulled his best friend into a hug, laughing and smiling as he repeated 'I love you' over and over.

'Hey, um, guys,' Kurt turned to Sebastian and Blaine with a casual arm draped around Rachel's shoulders, 'we're gonna head out now, because… yeah. I think we just need some time alone… y'know? Um, so maybe see you… soon?'

Blaine and Sebastian nodded understandingly and Blaine gave Kurt a quick wink, reverting back to his old self and Sebastian lips curved into his trademark smirk as the two best friend's walked out of the Lima Bean, giggling happily.

A/N HI GUYS. Sorry- just thought that you would like to see Rachel's outfit for her last date with Sebastian, so here's the link (just take out the spaces): www. net-a-porter product/ 191857
Check it out! I think the outfit is GORGEOUS.