AN sorry for the wait! life's been rather unexpected (you know with it being life and all), and in the since I've started writing this my grandmother died and my grandfather (on my other side of the fam) ended up hospitalized and going through heart surgery then a stroke.

I am writing when I can though and I tried to get this one out as fast as possible.

A big hug to all those who reviewed, subscribed and favourited this fic - I love you all dear readers.

Also to those reading my other fics, I'm working on those as well!

Chapter 2 – By Its Very Definition

Ray tried not to let Quinn's "nobody" comment get to him, but the memory kept on replaying in his head like that truly melancholic number from any Claude-Michel Shoenburg musical that makes you cry every time you hear the first few notes…

What that doesn't happen to everybody?

This was his punishment for leaving the safety of VA. Of course, it was at the school that put show choirs at the bottom of the social ladder that he had to meet the radiant angel of his dreams.

There was also the small matter in which she was dating the giant football player.

Ray sighed once more and was thankful when the tardy teacher finally entered the class. He sincerely hoped that such unprofessional behaviour wasn't a regular thing for the Spanish teacher.

"Hola, classe! Soy Senior Schuester."

It was difficult not to wince at Mr. Schuester's accent but Ray prided himself on being nothing less than an exceptional actor. He was, however, eternally grateful that the teacher switched to English for the rest of his start-of-the-year speech.

Mr. Schuester seemed like a nice man but Spanish was definitely not something he should be allowed to teach… ever.

The material was something that should have been reviewed in middle school. Ray turned around and saw that most people didn't even have notebooks out. He spotted the traditionally beautiful cheerleaders in the back doodling in theirs and giggling in each others' ears. The blonde one looked up and Ray couldn't help but compare her to the first blonde cheerleader had came across earlier in the day.

This one had a slightly lighter shade of blonde hair tied in an identical ponytail. She was sitting down but Ray could already tell that she was tall and probably a dancer based the muscle definition on her exceptionally long legs. She made eye contact and he noted the bright blue orbs that shone bright with open innocence and joy. Definitely different from Quinn Fabray's own shielded, hazel ones.

She nudged the girl next to her and pointed in his direction. Ray resisted the urge to duck his head and sink into his seat at the heated glare the darker girl sent his way. Barely resisted.

Quinn Fabray presented herself with a passive-aggressive subtlety to her "cheerleader" persona, Ray noticed earlier. An ice-cold exterior that was almost painfully polite but more cutting than most insults. This girl killing him with her eyes, however, was flat-out telling him to "FUCK OFF."

But this was the new and improved Ray Redford Berry. So he braved the brunt of the fire and waved weakly at the smiling blonde. She looked happy and excitedly returned the gesture before distracting the girl beside her with a whispered conversation.

The angry gaze now off of him, Ray felt his body lax and nearly collapse from the whole encounter.

What was with the people, no what was with the cheerleaders here?

Perhaps it was best to stay clear of them from now on, he thought morosely.

The club sign-up billboard was littered with clubs and teams of every kind. Most of which were various fan-appreciation kinds that would do no good for Ray's future college application. However he did find interesting ones in the Jewish Students Union, Black Students Union, Mock United Nations Club and the Debate Team. To his dismay, the drama and glee clubs were missing from the board so he had to settle for the Renaissance Club. It did seem like there would be quite a flair for dramatics.

He made sure to add his signature stars at the end of each signature, which had evolved from stickers to a stylish penned addition after his name. He would have stuck with the gold stickers but his best friend Noah pointed out that it would garner the same insults he had before Carmel. Jesse was kinder when he noted that the signature style would be excellent practice for autograph signings. He had a point considering how impractical it would be carrying a roll of star stickers in his pocket.

However, Ray wasn't the only one eyeing the club signup sheets with determined interest. To his left, he noticed Mr. Schuester looking particularly melancholy as he gazed longingly at the paper-covered wall. He followed as the Spanish teacher left with a sigh towards a trophy case in the hall.

"By its very definition, glee is about opening yourself up to joy." Ray read out loud, making Schuester jump out of his nostalgia. He literally jumped as well, making Ray step back and laugh lightly. "It's a beautiful sentiment. I heard the 1991 performance was quite the spectacle at Nationals that year."

Mr. Schuester's eyes glossed over at the memory, "Yeah, that was a great year."

Ray inspected the trophy case, noting the trophies that littered it. McKinley was the Carmel of the '80s and '90s and they looked so happy which was something that set them apart from what he was used to. "What happened? To glee, I mean. And the arts here? McKinley High used to be at the forefront of show choir competitions, local theatre productions and band titles."

"The best glee club coach that McKinley ever had, passed away. Sue Sylvester came in with the Cheerio's and Mr. Figgins began to believe that athletics were where the money would come in." The teacher answered bitterly, counting off the list on his hands.

"That's such a shame. The arts deserve to be just as recognized as the barbarous sporting games. If not more so. There's just something about the arts, show choir that brings the world…"

"Heart." Mr. Schue finished for Ray. "Performing in glee club always brought so much joy and heart."

He looked down at his new student, "Are you planning to join glee?"

"Although performing is my life and my destiny, I must admit to being a bit… reluctant to join Mr. Ryerson's pathetic excuse for a show choir." Ray shrugged and made to leave, "If it were you leading the glee club, it wouldn't even be a question."

Noah Puckerman strode down the halls of McKinley like the badass he was. He smirked, feeling the heated gazes of quite a few hotties and maybe a few teachers. He made sure to remember their faces in case he had them this semester.

The Puckster was ready for a new year of chicks. And with the Freshmen rolling in, there were sure to be some insecure chickadees in short and tight fitting skirts just waiting for a Puckasaurus to pounce.

Life was good.

"Puckerman! Sup man?" What's-his-face from the hockey team gave a high-five with the greeting.

"Hey, dude. What's with the slushies?" Puck asked casually.

"This year's fresh freaks are in for the welcome of a lifetime. They'll learn what's what."

And get Red Dye #2 in their eyes while they're at it.

Puck did his best to shrug it off. It was the same thing every year. Sure, he was in on some of the pranks, but the nagging voice in the back of his head prevented him from bringing the beat down on any of the losers. The nagging that sounded just like his Jew-bro.

They were never too close before the incident, but after…

He just felt so guilty.

He never knew that teasing and bullying could lead to… that.

Like a cheesy school film that nobody listened to but it was real. And he didn't do anything for Ray.

Part of him was ashamed to admit that he still wasn't doing anything. It was different though; Ray was somebody he looked after for two years. A little brother that needed protecting. Ray was the brightest person he knew in Lima. Hell, he was probably the most star-worthy dude in all of Ohio.

Puck knew all this before the incident but kind of hated him for it.

Ray was the special one at Jewish Community Centre functions and Puck was the one they threw out for getting into trouble.

Ray had enough talent to get out of this shithole and Puck was assumed to never make it out without getting arrested and placed in the state prison.

Ray had two dads and his was a deadbeat that took off years ago.

The incident changed everything because Sarah Puckerman was the nurse that helped treat the recovering Ray Berry. She brought Puck to visit and seeing the once loud and annoyingly talented Berry boy so broken down made him cry.

What cemented his respect for Ray was the fact that he had forgiven Puck so quickly for being a part of the group that harassed him.

Ray was the most talented person in Lima, hell in all of Ohio and he still believed in Puck.

But this was high school now and even with all the guilt and his friendship with Berry, he still needed to protect himself. He wasn't the one behind the trash dumps or the slushees. He would have been that jerk if it hadn't been for Ray. But a few verbal jabs and threatening looks were enough to keep him high enough on the McKinley pyramid to not be on the receiving end.

Hell, he even left the girly dude, Kevin? Curtis? The Hummel kid… Whatever his name was, Puck made sure that nothing too bad happened to him.

He shrugged to himself in the halls, noting that the bell was ringing for lunch.

It was the least he could do for- wait a minute.

"RAY?!"

What the hell was Ray Berry doing at McKinley High?

As soon as Spanish class was done, Ray rushed out of the room. The darker skinned cheerleader that basically told him to burn in hell with just one look was terrifying and the poor boy just wanted to survive one day without humiliation.

Walking briskly, Ray tried to get himself as far away from the cheerleader duo as possible. He was so occupied with avoiding them that he failed to notice the people in front of him gasp and run to their lockers in fear of the slushee-armed jock heading his way.

"RAY?!"

The boy in question turned and saw that Noah Puckerman, clad in the red and white Letterman armour, was running up to him. "Noah?"

"Yo, Puckerman! You know this loser?" The hockey jock was just itching for his chance to throw the coloured ice drink but unspoken hierarchy rules placed football players way above hockey players.

"Uh," Puck looked down to his slush-soaked bro and was resolute in what he had to do next, "Yeah, he's my cousin."

"Cousin?" Both Puck and Ray glanced around to see the crowd gather and whisper to each other about this new development.

Ray saw the look in the jock's eye and decided to run with the story, "Yes, Noah and I are related. His mother gave him a strict dressing down once they found out I was to be transferred to his school."

The two 'cousins' shared a look understood only by them as a result of their close friendship over the years and Puck winked as he went along with their little alibi, "Ma was harsh about me looking after the kid, I ain't getting into shit just because I let a slushie drip down his shirt."

Ray nodded vehemently, "Aunt Sarah would kill me if the clothes she bought for me went to waste."

"And by kill him, he meant that Ma would really kill me. You know what that means?" The nameless jock shook his head in fear. "That means I would have to kill the idiot that started it. But you know what?"

"Wh-wh-what?"

Puck smiled in false kindness, "I don't really want to do all that shit. Too messy," he cracked his knuckles and the smile morphed into a sneer. "So why don't you finish your slushie and get the hell out of my hallway?"

"O-okay…" the jock turned slowly in confusion, only to have the slushie in his hand tip towards him and spill onto his pants.

"Oops! Sorry," Santana shrugged and smirked as she waggled her manicured fingers, "…not."

The rest of the hall laughed at the reddened hockey player as he ran past Santana. They laughed even harder when he slipped.

Ray let out an air of relief, "Thanks, Noah." His brief delight at being saved was deterred by the presence of the evil-eyed brunette that haunted him during Spanish. "Uh, greetings."

The girl was easily one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen. Her dark tresses were bound up in a high pony similar to all the other cheerleaders at the school but that did not detract from her undeniable pulchritude. Unlike the angelic old Hollywood grace that Quinn Fabray radiated with seeming ease, this cheerleader was well aware of her own sexual appeal and used it unapologetically. She crossed her arms just under her chest, smirking as the action drew attention from several boys in the hall. Ray looked over and saw that Noah was typically just as mesmerized by the physical emphasis on the girl's breasts.

Her eyebrow was raised and the deep brown (almost dreadfully black, Ray noted fearfully) eyes were laced with distain as she scrutinized the boy in front of her.

Finally she cocked her head to the side and rolled those twin orbs of the Apocalypse, "Britt seems to think you're her new pet. She says she wants pick you up and put you in her pocket."

She fixed her intense glare at Ray, making him tremble a little. He glanced over to Noah who was biting a knuckle in an effort to conceal laughter. No help from him, he presumed.

"Look here, Frodo Faggins," Ouch, at least that one was humorously creative in an insensitively offensive manner. "I'mma tolerate this little development cuz I understand why Britts thinks a little gnome like you would be a furry, cuddly pet. You look like a chia pet with legs."

Ray felt the perfectly sharp manicured nail of Santana's index finger dig into his chest as she stepped closer and closer into his personal space.

"If I ever catch a whiff of you trying to get into Brittany's 'pockets' I'mma ends you. Lima Heights style."

Nodding, Ray gently pushed away Santana's finger, "I assume you're referring to the blonde cheerleader you were… talking to during class?" She gives him a look as if to say 'Who the fuck else am I talking about?'

"I assure you that despite your rather confusing and offensive implication about my sexuality, I am indeed straight and wholly uninterested in pursuing any pockets that belong to your Britts'." He paused, gathering his courage and continued; "Also I would ask that you do not use that derogatory term in my presence. Please."

Santana narrowed her eyes and cocked her head to the side before nestling into a comfortable yet easily terrifying pose with her arms crossed. Ray wondered how long he had before the predator pounced.

"You talk way too fucking much for a pre-pubescent garden gnome," was her only reply before walking over to Noah and Ray let out the breath he was holding. It wasn't an apology but he would take what he could get. Especially if that meant he didn't lose any vital body parts.

"I think I've told him at least a bazillion times already, babe." Puck interjected as he placed his heavy arm on her shoulders.

Rolling her eyes she nudged him and forcibly shrugged the arm off, "Okay first of alls? Don't call me babe. We meet, we fuck and the school thinks we're the hottest couple since Christian Bale and puberty. We do not do the pet names and you only get to put your arm around me when there are important people around."

"This is your girlfriend, Noah?" Ray asked nonplussed, he had always assumed that tall, blonde, well-endowed and ditzy was more his type. Checking quickly as to not upset the irritable tigress, he confirmed that only one of those attributes rang true.

"When she wants us to be. Rest of the time, we're fuck buddies." Puck shrugged nonchalantly with his answer.

Ray reddened at the term.

"We adopting stray freshmen or what, Puck? I get that you need to do community service but teaching Jew Jr. here the birds and the bees wasn't what I signed up for."

Ignoring the fact that she and Ray shared the last class together, Ray remained quiet.

Noah on the other hand, merely laughed and clapped a hand to Ray's shoulder, "Naw, Lopez. This here is my Jewbro. Ray Berry."

She tensed up for a split second then cocked an eyebrow in disbelief, "This is the guy that conned the officer out of arresting you for public nudity? With at least a hundred witnesses?"

"Well, it wasn't so much as con as it was blackmail. I told the officer that Noah was a victim of bullying and if he so much as cuffed him, I would bring in the ACLU."

A few seconds of silence followed before Santana started laughing uncontrollably. Ray shifted when Puck looked at him in confusion.

"What the hell is so funny? What's the ACLU?"

"I may have suggested that you were targeted in a hate crime because of your sexuality… I told him I'd call the ACLU if he pressed… charges?" His response died towards the end as Puck reddened and Santana was sent into another fit of giggles.

"You're not so bad, Hobbit." Santana said at last getting some bearings and punching him hard in the arm.

Ray winced and automatically went to rub the pained area. "Thanks?"

Finally regaining a little dignity, Puck threw another light punch to his other arm, "In Santana's world, that's a fucking welcome parade. Come on, let's get some lunch."

"Ah, ah, ah." Santana tutted, blocking Ray's way, "We're not going anywhere until you take off that gay scarf."

"What's wrong with my scarf?" Ray looked down; Jesse said it would make a dramatic statement.

"You just told me you were straight." Santana sniped. "Metro is so last year and the only guy you see in these halls wearing a scarf at this time of year is Hummel and his sexuality is as straight as a Fruit Loop. So yeah, no scarves until I see it's fucking snowing outside, okay?"

The poor boy couldn't even choke out a reply as the offending scarf was ripped off his neck by the crazy cheerleader.

No scarves to be worn in Santana Lopez's presence ever, noted Ray, the combination was probably a hazard to his health.

Quinn zoned out her blabbering boyfriend as she fixed her makeup in her locker mirror. Her favourite bathroom to do her usual makeup check was currently under the Skanks' rule, which was unfortunate for the Head Cheerio. That particularly rebellious group lived outside the standard hierarchy and frankly their lack of hygiene made it difficult to approach them.

"Hey I didn't know Puck's friends with the new kid."

Quinn's head snapped up to check Finn's statement "What?"

He pointed to other end of the hall to where the Berry kid was and Quinn was surprised to find that Noah Puckerman, self-proclaimed badass, was really talking to the new loser. She squinted as she watched the strange duo laugh and push each other around. Signs that they were friends for longer than today.

Her hands tensed as she watched her second-in-command pounce on the new kid. Ray wouldn't stand a chance against the wrath of Santana Lopez. What could Quinn do? She couldn't help Ray, not after Finn graded him so low on the pyramid. There was another thought that crossed her mind as she observed Santana's usual verbal beat-down made the poor kid red. Why did Quinn even have the impulse to help Ray Redford Berry in the first place?

Mercy was only from the weak and the Liberal. That's what Coach Sue would always shout in her ear. And that's what Quinn needed to focus on.

But when she saw Santana go from her scary Lima Heights mode to laughing bosom buddy in front of the freak in question, Quinn couldn't shake off the growing irritation.

She wasn't jealous. Freaks had their place in the world. Lucy Fabray had to learn that the hard way. She had to become Quinn to beat the system.

The new loser did not deserve to have it so easy.

Ray didn't know what to think of Santana Lopez. She was quite the enigma. Quite the terrifying, horrendously offensive enigma. His intuition told him that although she and Puck weren't together on all levels of intimacy, she was more than a fuck buddy, which was probably why she knew Ray's tragic backstory. That had to be the only reason he survived the threat she issued on behalf of the blonde cheerleader from Spanish.

He also had a feeling that was the reason both Puck and Santana flanked him as they headed towards the cafeteria. It was like he had his very own uniformed bodyguards. He accurately guessed that the people in the halls feared Santana more than they did the running back football player on his left.

"So wait, how many clubs have you joined so far, Midget?" she inquired when the settled in the cafeteria.

"I've signed up for most, although I didn't see a signup sheet for either show choir or drama." He sighed mournfully, taking another bite of his salad.

Santana scoffed mid-bite into her apple, "Okay, you're really not helping to convince me that you're straight."

"What makes you think I have to convince you of anything?" Ray replied bluntly, ignoring Puck's 'Oooo burn' in the background, "You're clearly in your own romantic entanglement and uninterested in me, anything concerning my sexuality should not be a factor in our friendship."

"Touché, Berry." Santana admitted with grudging respect, "But seriously? Glee? That's social suicide. I mean, who wants to go around singing lame-ass oldies every week with stupid dance moves and costumes? Not to mention Mr. Pedo himself, leading the charge with his hand down his pants."

Ray bristled, "While I do concede to your point about the current glee coach, show choir is so much more than lame-ass oldies." He broke off and shuffled through his backpack. Taking out his iPod touch, he found one of the Carmel performances that Shelby made him study.

"Show choir is about competition. It's an extremely intense process that involves much blood, sweat and more blood. The tears evaporate after a couple of hours of rehearsals under the spotlight."

Santana and Puck watched the video with curiosity. Even she had to admit that the performance was something at Cheerio level of professionalism. However, she would never admit that underneath the bravado of bitch and snark there was a twinge of envy over the lead singer in the video. Standing out there in the spotlight and bringing the house down with her voice.

She saw Puck in the corner of her eye, not needing to read his mind to see that he was thinking the same thing.

Still, she had to reel in before hoping for too much. "Okay fine, so these guys are freaking good. You really think this garbage dump of a school can cough up the talent to pull shit like this off? It's not like singing and prancing around a stage will make any of these poor saps less of the Lima Losers they are and they know it."

"It's a chance to be apart of something special-" Ray argued but he was quickly cut off.

"For what? A second in the limelight before dying in the background of broken dreams of stardom? Seems like a waste of time to me."

"For me," Ray replied, "Glee club is the only way for me to get out of Ohio and onto Broadway. For many of my peers at my old school, it was their only chance to get out of state to places like Los Angeles."

Puck and Santana's eyes lit up at the mention of out-of-state opportunities and California.

"You are right in a way, I suppose. For many, show choir won't change anything. But feeling the rush of applause after pouring your heart and soul into a song? Something like that can never be a waste of time." He continued, unaware of the raptured attention he got from his audience. "It's a chance to be special. Because being a part of something special, makes you special. Even if it's for one night as a rock star."

They remained in silence after Ray's little speech, not quite uncomfortable but also not completely tension-free. Even Noah was unusually quiet.

It was Santana who broke the silence with one word that made the surrounding students tremble with fear.

"Zizes."

Ray looked at the cheerleader in confusion, "Pardon?"

She rolled her eyes then pointed out a girl sitting alone at the other end of the cafeteria, "Lauren Zizes. There's the answer to your problem. She's head of the AV club and can put a wire on a fucking ninja without him knowing. How she can do all that while double-fisting a Twinkie is one of life's greatest mysteries. She can help you get rid of Ryerson."

Ray looked over to Lauren and as if on cue she began to open up her two Twinkies, devouring them at an alarmingly fast rate for someone of her… build, "Isn't that a little extreme?"

"Look, nobody is going to join the SS gay club while Mr. Molester's the head honcho. You need him gone and Zizes is the only one that can provide the ammo."

It seemed like a sensible plan, "Who would replace him?"

Santana punched his arm and stood up with her lunch tray, "Hey, this is your homework not mine. Figure the rest of this shit on your own."

Glee, by its very definition, is about opening yourself to the possibility of happiness.

Happy. It's been a while since Ray could truly identify with that emotion. He was healing at Carmel. Content but never really filled with the same joy he felt the first time he belted out "Bring Him Home" in front of his proud papas.

Mr. Schuester knew what that feeling was and Ray knew it.

The McKinley Glee Club will return to its former glory and he would see to it himself. That was a Ray Redford Berry guarantee.

"Dude," Ray snapped out of his planning and looked at a slightly terrified Noah, "You got that look in your eye. The last time that happened you made me dress up like a freaking Cat so we could do that stupid musical in the alley uptown for your stupid Myspace video."

"Oh, I bet you looked like Lord Tubbington, Puck-y Puck!" Brittany interjected, grabbing Santana's pinky as the shorter girl stood up from the cafeteria bench.

"Come on Britts, let's get Berry to give us the pics on that little feline disaster."

They both grabbed Ray's arms and led him out of the cafeteria, leaving a frightened Puck.

"Dude, I smelled like garbage for a month!"

…

"DUDE!"

AN: please be kind and review! I would really appreciate any input :)