Wow. Reading your reviews just killed me because they were all so hopeful and ignorant of the horror I am throwing upon this story. It made me feel so bad for what I'm about to do. So bad, I almost didn't do it. Almost.

I am truly sorry, but it was the whole point of this story and I already have a plan that I can't abandon now. And, if I took this out, the whole first chapter of this story would make zero sense and have absolutely no point. So yeah, I'm sorry. So I added a little Puck in even though I didn't think I was going to. :D Yay, one thing to look forward to!

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, but my mom says I'm still cool.

Showface Eight: The Final Word

The Next Morning…

She was in shock. Her lungs felt like ice, it almost hurt to breathe. But somehow she managed to grip the water glass tightly in her hands, her fingers grazing over the gold stars as she tried desperately not to cry now that she had her make up on. She breathed in uneasily and took a long hard sip, its contents nearly empty when she pulled away.

She heard the honking of a car horn outside. No. She couldn't see Puck. Not today, she had to pull herself together first. She whipped out her phone and sent some half-wit excuse. She was seriously considering just ditching school all together. She knew it was bad to procrastinate; she still had to yell at Santana, demand Finn for an explanation, and… spread word. But right now, she just wanted to lie down and forget the world.

Her door banged open causing Rachel to nearly jump five feet in the air. Puck stood in the doorway, giving her a quick smirk before his face turned serious again.

"Noah! I told you I was sick!" She said, still startled.

"I know." He crossed the room to where she was sitting on her bed. "I'm just calling you out on your bullshit."Rachel pressed her lips together.

"I appreciate it, but I really would just like to be alone right now." Rachel returned her voice stiff.

Puck appraised her for a moment, and then feigned offense. "So you're turning down my friendship, Berry? I'm hurt." Her eyes went cold.

"I'm serious." He blinked several times at the lack of any kindness in her voice. He had never heard that tone on her before, and to be honest, he didn't like it.

"What's your problem?" He asked tactlessly, frowning at the deep circles under her eyes and the angry expression that seemed frozen on her face. A sudden thought dawned upon him. "Did something happen with Finn?" Her body shook with sobs.

"Yes, and no. Something did happen with Finn but," She wiped her tears out of her eyes. "That's not what I'm worried about." His eyebrows arched as he waited for her to elaborate. She looked hesitant, her eyes traveling slightly before landing on the clock and pushing him away. "You're going to be late. Just, tell Mr. Schue I'm not feeling well."

"But you have to come to Glee-"

"I'll come to Glee." She said, cutting him off. "I just, I'll come later okay. I need a while to think." He nodded as she practically shoved him out the door before falling to her feet. He could hear her crying from the other side of the door and he almost wanted to go in there and help her, but he wasn't very good with crying women, or making them feel better, he usually just made them feel worse. She he considered it a favor when he walked out of the door and back to his car, wondering what was wrong.

Rachel took a deep, shallow breath as she stood outside the choir room, listening to the rest of the club sing Tubthumping. Even then fun song didn't make her feel any better, and she suddenly wished for another glass of water.

Rachel Berry was about to go onstage and give the hardest performance of her life.

She heard laughter from inside as they all settled down again. "That was really good guys! Why don't we discuss choreography for "Don't Stop Me Now?" There were groans from all around the classroom, then a sudden silence. A silence which she usually filled with a 'should-be-motivation' speech.

"Wait, where's Rachel?" She stopped breathing. That was her cue. The curtain rose as she entered the room, clearing her throat with a quiet, 'here'. Puck's eyes widened as he saw her, surprised she actually showed up, while just about everyone else looked shocked she showed up late.

Mr. Schue's eyes widened. "Rachel? Is everything okay? Are you hurt? You're late."

"Nobody's hurt." She said, her head still turned downwards. She nearly scowled at the obvious weakness in her voice, which was suddenly powdery soft. "I just…" She cleared her throat again. "I have something I need to say." Her voice came out stronger. Mr. Schuester nodded as her took a chair and motioned for the other kids to quiet down.

This was it. Her big speech, her time to shine. She squeezed her eyes shut for a second and tried to pretend like none of this was real. It was just a script for a play. And this was just a heartbreaking scene that would get her a Tony. She just needed to open her mouth and dazzle the crowd, then it would be all over. She felt the spotlight's warmth as she took a small step forward onto the very middle of her imaginary stage. She could her the drum roll playing in the background as she mustered up all of courage and finally spoke.

"I can't be in Glee anymore."

She was pulled harshly back into the present as a cry of 'what?' rang out, and Mr. Schue's face blanched. There was an eruption from all around the room and it seemed each person had a different thing to say, steadily getting crueler as they went.

"Guys! Just… listen. I want to be. But…" She sighed pathetically as she searched for something to do with her hands. She had never felt this self conscious before, with all their eyes turned in her direction. "My fathers have been fighting a lot lately, a lot of things I'd rather not like to share with you happened and… well, some changes are necessary." She looked at her shoes again. She took a deep breath again. "Dad wasn't happy because most of our money comes from my other father, who's a lawyer. But that's causing them to spend a lot of time apart." Rachel wasn't sure how much she was comfortable sharing with them, so she skimmed over some of the details, trying to get to the main point. "Then he got another job offer. The only problem is it's not in Ohio." It took them all a second to process this, but they still didn't understand. "Daddy took the job anyway, which Dad wasn't happy about, so they fought over it for a while until Dad finally told him to take the job. But he wasn't coming with him."

The room grew deathly quiet before Puck asked, "Your dads are getting divorced?" They all studied her for a minute, gauging her reaction.

"No, they've made that very clear. They're just, spending a little time apart until we figure things out. Financially, at least. So, for now, Daddy's taking the job in Indiana, and Dad's staying here."

"Wait." Quinn interrupted. "So, why are you telling us this?" Rachel sighed again.

"I was given a choice on where I wanted to live. Ft. Wayne Indiana or Lima."

"You're moving?" Tina asked incredulously.

Rachel pressed her lips together. "Ft. Wayne has a performing arts school there, called Lincoln. It looks a lot better on an application to Julliard then McKinley does."

Kurt put his head in his hands while Mercedes just looked angry. "So you're just leaving us because all the sudden you got a better offer?"

Rachel's eyes hardened. "Why wouldn't I? It's not like I have much of a reason to stay other than a daily slushy facial and a Glee club that hates me and doesn't even pretend to hide it!" Rachel's voice grew louder and angrier when they watched in horror. "You all treat me horribly and expect me to just lie down, take it, and still save you at the end of the day because I'm talented!"

"Rachel, what are you talking about? Yeah, we treated you horribly before, but we're friends now." Santana interjected, looking genuinely upset. Rachel scoffed.

"Which is why you lied to me about Finn, no doubt." Both Finn and Santana's jaws fell open at her words.

Santana began stammering. "How'd you find out about that?" Brittany shuffled guiltily beside her and mumbled, 'Sorry San, I thought she knew.'

Nobody spoke for a long time as Rachel stood at the front of the room fuming, glaring at every member of the club. Artie was the one to break the silence. "But we need you to win. Last time we tried without you we ended up with a drunk April Rhodes and you had to come save us again. We can't do it without you."

Rachel had never known Artie particularly well. They were stronger friends at the beginning when he barely knew Tina and there were less people in the club. Sure they had talked from time to time, and though he never insulted her to her face, she had heard him say little things about her behind her back. And here she was, surprised by his sudden sincerity.

"I'm sorry." She seemed like she was saying it a lot when she shouldn't have to now a days. "But, it's a Glee club. Just like Mr. Schue said, it's wonderful, and heartwarming, but twenty years from now, it's not gonna matter. I'm not going to put off my future, my chance of becoming a star, just to help you all win a show choir competition." She almost laughed bitterly as she recalled her famous line. "My dreams are bigger than that." Faces all around the room grow sullen and silent. There was no stopping her.

Rachel drew her shoulders up again. "I'm not angry at you. I am disappointed I have to leave, but… I think it's for the best." No one moved. "Ft. Wayne is only an hour and fifteen minutes away. I can come visit anytime you like. It's not like you're never going to see me again."

Still no one spoke and she wanted to laugh again as she realized that's not what they really cared about. Even back when she first quit, she could still remember, begging for them to take her back in. She had pulled heartfelt line after heartfelt line, about friendship and loyalty, neither getting any response. It wasn't until she had admitted to knowing all the words to the song that they even spoke. Because that didn't care if she could live with herself, or if she felt special being there friend, they just cared that she would still be there, and ready to whip out a quick power ballad and blow them all away. Or at least, that's what she kept telling herself. They wouldn't miss her. They'd just miss her talent.

"Goodbye."

A/N: Well, be happy I didn't kill her. Which I am NOT GOING TO DO. But I have officially decided that dramas are fun, but really only a onetime thing, so after this is over I'm going off into cheesy fluffy cute land, with a four or five chapter mutli called 'Thick as Thieves' which is already in the making though I might change the title later.

Also, sadly, I am unable to find a spot to shove Puck in next chapter, (as they will be states apart) but I might be able to include a text conversation or something like that. Anyway, sorry, again, but it wasn't as angsty as I was originally planning on making it, I was gonna make her hate all of them, but then I figured that would be kind of ridiculous. So yeah, I'm done with A/N now.

-xoxo SIL xoxo