The day was dragging by entirely too slowly for Santana's liking and glaring at the time on her screen she wondered how the hell it was only mid-way through the afternoon. She had suffered through first period Spanish with little more than some sarcastic banter at Mr Schue's efforts and had done a pretty good job paying attention through second period English. The only highlight to her day so far had been spending lunch in the auditorium with Rachel and now that her caffeine high was starting to fade the cheerleader wondered if she would make it to the end of the day without completely falling asleep.

"Okay class, good work today." Mrs Montgomery drawled, her soft voice breaking through the quiet of the computer lab, "Now don't forget your assignments are due this Friday."

Santana groaned as she began to grab her things together; she hadn't even started the assignment yet but luckily she knew her parents were both going to be out of town for work over the next couple of days. It was one of the rare occasions she had the house to herself and could relax enough to get her homework done. As the bell rang to signal the end of class the cheerleader was the first one up and out of her seat, she only had one more class to get through and then she was free for the day.

As she strolled through the hallway Santana was so caught up in her idea to drag Rachel to her house and order in Breadsticks for some much needed energy food that she almost didn't notice the small group gathered by her locker. It wasn't something that happened often, people tended to stay out of her way as much as possible and apart from Brittany, and occasionally Mercedes; no one seemed willing to approach her normally.

"Santana, we need to talk." Finn stated as he drew himself to his full height in a hope to impose some kind of authority.

The cheerleader narrowed her eyes as she pulled open her locker and tossed the books she was holding inside, the whole leader-complex was seriously starting to get on her nerves, "I don't see what I could possibly have to talk to you about Fatty McGassy pants."

"Then you can listen instead." Artie piped up from his place next to Finn.

Throwing the boy a menacing glare Santana sighed and slammed her locker shut, leaning against the cool metal she let her eyes flick between the four glee clubbers forming a loose semi-circle in front of her, "What do you want?"

"We want you to leave Rachel alone." Mercedes stated calmly.

"What?" Santana asked in disbelief as she echoed, "You…want me to leave her alone?"

Kurt nodded as he shifted his weight from foot to foot anxiously, "I know you're…angry about what happened the other night but that really is between you and well, us. You need to leave Rachel out of it."

Santana gritted her teeth, so much for an apology, "I don't understand what the hell you think you're saying-"

Finn stepped forward as he stared at the cheerleader, "We're saying that whatever horrible scam you're trying to pull on the rest of New Directions, leave Rachel out of it. We all know you don't like her and this fake-friendship thing you're pulling is not going to work."

Santana scoffed, her arms crossed defensively she growled, "Fake friendship?"

"We might not have worked out exactly how you plan on using Rachel against us but we're telling you now, stop messing her around." Finn spat.

Pushing herself away from the lockers Santana sneered, she couldn't believe what was happening. She knew people were going to have a problem with her and Rachel being friends but she figured most of it would come from the jocks and the Cheerio's, berating herself for her own naivety she growled, "I don't have to listen to this."

"Yes, you do." Kurt snapped, his normally calm exterior faltering slightly, "Rachel is our friend and I will be damned if we're going to sit back and watch you ruin her."

"We all saw your award winning performance earlier; you couldn't help Rachel fast enough could you?" Finn provoked, his stare set firmly on Santana as the two squared up, "You're normally the one ordering the slushy, not helping clean them off."

Santana snarled, "You sure as hell weren't going to help her were you?"

Finn had the decency to falter at that, his eyes dropping to the floor as Santana glared at the group, the tall boy's unconvincing voice falling on uncaring ears, "Rachel can take care of herself."

"You're pathetic." Santana snapped her body boiling with anger at the way Finn tried to shrug off the fact a football player had gone after the tiny girl, her next insult was cut off though as a voice from beside her interrupted.

"What's going on?" Rachel asked as she came to a stop next to the cheerleader, she had been on her way to pick up a forgotten book from her own locker when she noticed her friend being seemingly interrogated. She thought for a moment that maybe the group were apologising but it didn't take a genius to work out that was ever was happening it was not glee club extending the hand of friendship. Rachel felt the tiny spark of hope she had flick and die as she saw the way everyone seemed to be glaring at each other.

Turning to face her friend Santana rolled her eyes, "These guys were just telling me how you're capable of looking after yourself after a slushy attack but you aren't quite capable of deciding who you should be friends with."

"What?" Rachel asked coldly, her steely gaze focusing on Finn.

"She's playing you Rachel, can't you see that?" he tried, gesturing for the rest of the group to back him up.

Artie nodded, "It's true, I mean she obviously has ulterior motives."

"Such as?" the diva prompted as she crossed her arms, mirroring Santana. She really wanted to see where this was going.

"Well, we haven't exactly worked that part out yet." Artie admitted as he fidgeted in his chair, "But she's up to something, she always is. I-I bet she's been planning this all summer."

Rachel pursed her lips; the idea that Santana had spent her summer in Puerto Rico plotting her downfall seemed even more absurd now that she knew about the cheerleader's family. Turning to Kurt and Mercedes she raised an eyebrow, "You all think this is a scheme?"

The two divas shrugged and nodded, both looking awkwardly at each other as they tried not to see how angry Rachel was. Finn sighed as he took a step forward trying to make his ex-girlfriend see his point, "We are your friends and we don't want to see you get hurt."

"I can't believe this." Rachel retorted angrily, "If I want to spend time with Santana then I will, you don't get to decide who I am friends with."

Finn scoffed as he gestured towards the cheerleader, "She's not your friend!"

"And how the hell would you know?" Santana shouted, she could feel herself getting more and more upset with every word that came towards her. It was only when Rachel lay a calming hand on her shoulder that she managed to control her emotions long enough to take a deep breath and bite back some of her rage. She took a little comfort from the double take Mercedes did as she saw Rachel's soothing gesture.

"What's going on?"

Santana whipped her head to the side to see a confused Brittany glancing between the two groups, her eyes darting from face to face as she tried to work out what was happening. It wasn't exactly an everyday thing to see Santana and Rachel squared off against Finn especially in the middle of the hallway.

"It's nothing Brittany." Artie soothed, his patronising tone instantly winding up both the cheerleaders.

"Don't talk to her like she's a fucking kid Wheels." Santana snapped, her natural instinct to protect the blonde overriding her current issues with her friend, "What's going on is the great beached whale and his band of loyal followers have managed to tear themselves away from their mission to roll him into the ocean long enough to tell me that I'm not allowed to be friends with Rachel because I'm a scheming bitch."

"But, I'm friends with Rachel." Brittany stated innocently as she stood between the two groups, "Am I not supposed to be?"

Finn rolled his eyes as he pointed between the two Cheerio's, "You're not the problem, she is."

"Because it's such a stretch of your tiny imagination that I might actually like Rachel?" Santana snapped. She knew the rest of the club had their issues with her but she never thought they would dislike her enough to ruin her friendship with Rachel, "I mean I couldn't possibly be capable of being friends with someone other than Britts right?"

Rachel felt her heart tighten in her chest; she could tell that the other girl was close to breaking point. Every bad thought the cheerleader had about her place in the glee club was being confirmed twice over by the groups callus approach to what Rachel assumed was meant to be an intervention to protect her. Rather than make the singer feel protected they were making Santana feel like even more of an outcast.

"We're not saying that-" Mercedes tried, her regretful tone almost lost as Artie interrupted.

"We're saying that she can't be trusted." Artie stated, "She's back on Team Sue for one thing and she has a history of being nothing but a bitch to you Rachel, to all of us!"

Brittany frowned at her ex-boyfriend, she didn't understand how Finn and Artie couldn't see the double standard in their argument, "But I'm on the Cheerio's too, do you think I'm planning something bad?"

"It's not the same."

"Well, yeah it kind of is." The blonde argued as she moved to stand by Rachel the battle lines drawn again.

Finn exhaled loudly as his eyes flicked between the three girls who were currently glaring at him, the fire in their eyes only fuelling his stubborn refusal to accept the change in dynamic, "No. Santana insults everyone on a daily basis. She gave me and Quinn mono for god sakes, she probably tells Coach Sylvester everything to bring us down-"

"I gave Sue the set list." Brittany interrupted sadly.

"It's not the same thing." Finn argued, his heated stare set firmly on Santana as he continued "The fact is you're such a bitch I bet your parents wish they could take you back to Satan!"

Santana felt her breath catch in her throat, her normal repertoire of insults and anger quickly replaced by an overwhelming darkness. She knew Finn didn't know anything about her home life, he didn't know anything about her at all, and he couldn't possibly know how much those offhand words hurt but he had still managed to zoom in on her biggest insecurity.

A stunned hush fell over the group and for a second everyone was still, the angry words echoing around the space as the group all stared at Finn with their mouths ajar. For his part Finn snap his head down, his own eyes wide with shock at the words that had come tumbling from his mouth. It was only Rachel who knew the full extent of the punch packed behind that one sentence and without even looking at Santana she could tell how devastated she was. She knew Kurt, Mercedes and Artie had all been waiting for a typical Santana-style outburst and when it didn't come the three looked awkwardly among themselves, so unused to seeing the cheerleader with her walls broken down.

It only took a moment for Santana to rebuild them; her vicious words maybe have been snatched from her but her well-practised armour slid back into place as she felt the group watching her. She knew it wasn't fast enough, she knew that the others had seen a glimpse of the weakness she tried to hide so with a withering glare in Finn's direction Santana shoved her way past the group and stormed off down the hallway as fast as she could. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she tried to keep herself together, her mind focused on getting away from the scene and cursing herself for letting the boy's words cut so deep.

She didn't know where she was going; all she did know was that she was not going to class. Santana knew she was going to fall apart and there was no way she could hold herself together for much longer before it happened. Slamming her way through a set of double doors she let her auto-pilot take over and it wasn't long before her legs had taken her to the comforting darkness of the school auditorium. As she sank down into one of the chairs in front of the stage the cheerleader drew her legs up to her chest, she didn't care how pathetic she looked as the tears began to slowly fall down her cheeks she was simply glad for the quiet calm that enveloped her.

"Santana?"

The cheerleader let out a bitter chuckle as Rachel's soft voice floated through the room; she should have guessed her friend would find her though she figured that hiding in the auditorium wasn't exactly the most elusive approach. It had been the place where only hours earlier she and the singer had been casually sitting on the stage and consuming an onslaught of caffeine and snacks, it was inevitable really that she would be drawn back there.

Sniffing back her tears Santana rolled her head back so it was lying against the seat, "You're going to be late for class."

"I know." Rachel said quietly as she trotted down the stairs and took a seat next to the other girl, "I'm skipping."

"Jesus, I am a bad influence on you." Santana muttered as she turned to look away from the diva.

Rachel shook her head even though she knew the other girl couldn't see, "It's my choice." Reaching out to clasp one of the cheerleader's hands she linked their fingers together and smiled as the other girl finally turned to look at her. She could see the tear tracks staining her otherwise perfect features and gently Rachel leant over with her free hand to brush away the last of her friend's tears.

"So, is this our thing now?" Santana mumbled, "I run away like a wuss and you're my knight in shining armour? God, when did I get so pathetic?"

Rachel shook her head, turning her body so she could face her friend she settled back into her seat, "It's not pathetic to be upset…or to want someone to be here with you. Besides, you helped me earlier so technically we're each other's shining knights or…knightesses?"

Santana couldn't help the laugh that escaped, "Thanks."

"Anytime. I'm-I'm sorry about what happened back there I-"

"You don't have to apologise for them Rach." Santana interrupted, a sad smile on her face as she added, "I guess it makes sense I mean…they're worried about you and it's not like I haven't given them a reason to be."

Rachel grimaced, "It still doesn't give them the right to speak to you like that."

Santana nodded as she turned to look at the stage, a niggling worry seeping into her consciousness as she felt Rachel rubbing soothing patterns in the palm of her hand, she knew she had to ask but she wasn't sure if she could take the answer. Summoning her courage Santana kept her attention focused away from her friend, "Did you- Do you ever think this is one of my schemes?"

Rachel blinked in surprise, "Is this because of what Finn said or…"

"I've thought about it before." The cheerleader admitted with a shrug, "I'd understand you know, if you doubted me…."

"I don't." Rachel replied firmly, giving Santana's hand a gentle tug to get her attention she waited for the cheerleader to look at her before continuing, "I never have."

Santana was surprised at how relieved she was to hear those words. The thought of Rachel doubting her after all they had shared together would have been too much to take on top of her increasingly shitty day. A calm silence fell over the two as they sat huddled together; when Santana eventually broke the quiet her voice was soft and sad as though she was merely thinking out loud, "It must be nice…"

"What?"

Twisting in her seat so she was facing her friend Santana added, "To have people looking out for you. It must be nice to have friends."

Rachel tightened her grip on the other girls hand, she knew Santana wasn't looking for any kind of cementing of their friendship but she felt a pang in her chest at the longing of the words. It was the loneliness of the statement that tore at the singer; the horrible understanding that the other girl didn't know what it was like to have a group of people on your side.

"Brittany and I…we've always come as pair y'know? For the longest time she's pretty much been all I have." Santana continued quietly as she sighed, "If I thought someone was trying to hurt her, I do the same thing those guys did but…"

"But what?" the singer asked shuffling closer.

Santana looked down as she bit her lip, "They don't know about my family so I can't be mad about what Finn said, I mean I can obviously because he's a total ass-hat and I will totally rip him a new one the next time I see him-"

"San…"

"Sorry." The cheerleader mumbled her temporary angry dissipating as she whispered, "I'm just sick of the shit they think about me. It's like everyone gets a second chance except me and maybe, maybe I don't deserve one but it-"

"Of course you do." Rachel interjected as she used her free hand to clasp Santana's knee, "I'm a strong believer that everyone deserves a second chance and I've never been happier that I gave you one."

Santana sighed as she gave her friend a half-smile, "That's the difference between you and the rest of those guys. I mean, they literally think I have no good in me and maybe they're right it seems like a pretty popular opinion."

"They are wrong because they don't know anything about the real you." The singer stated firmly as she shuffled closer to her friend, "It was only a few hours ago that you were washing blueberry juice out of my hair and lending me your clothes. You won me a stuffed frog for crying out loud, you stood up to Finn for us and scared the crap out of Azimio. You got me those incredible vegan brownies at lunch-"

"I don't think getting you brownies makes me a saint." Santana joked, her spirits lifting as she locked eyes with the diva.

Rachel scoffed, "When Finn and I were together he constantly brought me chocolates and tried to drag me with him to ice cream parlours. One time he got disproportionately offended when I wouldn't split a pizza with him."

Santana chuckled at the exasperated look on Rachel's face before she glanced down at the floor, "I guess I need to buy a whole load of people brownies then."

Rachel shrugged at the metaphor, "I think you might be owed some in return."

"That's one crazy guilt-ridden bake sale." Santana said with a smile, her next sentence cut off by the sound of someone entering the auditorium. Whipping around in her seat she prayed that it wasn't any of the New Directions and was more than relieved to find it was Shelby Corcoran gracefully walking down the steps and towards the stage. Her relief was short lived though as she felt Rachel squeezing her hand tensely. She knew her friend had been struggling with her birth-mother's arrival at McKinley; there was still a world of things left unsaid between the two.

"Sorry, I didn't know anyone was in here." Shelby began as she approached the pair, her eyes widening when she realised who it was, "Rachel and…Santana, right?"

Santana offered the teacher a tight smile as she pulled herself up from her seat and gestured for Rachel to do the same, the smaller girl's attention was glued to her Mother but she remained uncharacteristically quiet and Santana was surprisingly glad when the singer seemed unwilling to let go of her hand.

"I was just getting ready for glee club." Shelby explained as she hovered in the aisle, "Sugar is progressing well and she even convinced a couple of the Cheerio's to join, they aren't great singers but they can really dance."

Santana frowned as she recalled, "Right, I heard a couple of the freshmen joined up, Megan and Christie."

"Sugar can be pretty persuasive." Shelby grinned, her smile fading as she looked at her watch, "Shouldn't you two be in class right now?"

Santana gave a noncommittal shrug, she knew that Shelby was technically a teacher but she figured the woman wasn't about to drag them to Principal Figgins for ditching. As she felt Rachel tugging discreetly on her hand the cheerleader got the message and made to move past Shelby, she didn't miss the small awkward smiles exchanged as the mother and daughter passed each other silently.

Pausing at the top of the stairs, an idea hit Santana and turning slightly she shouted back down to the teacher, "What's your group called?"

"The Troubletones." Shelby replied proudly as she made her way onto the stage.

"That's good." Santana replied with a smile, "I like it."

"What was that?" Rachel asked as the girls pushed their way through the exit of the auditorium, "You're supporting the competition now?"

Rolling her eyes the cheerleader shook her head, "They aren't exactly competition Rach they don't even have any singers. I just…I don't know, Shelby's a nationally ranked show choir director…"

Rachel came to a sudden stop, her hand still clutching Santana's she spun the girl around to face her, "What exactly are you saying?"

"Nothing, but…"

"But you're thinking of joining Shelby's choir aren't you?" Rachel asked sadly, she wasn't exactly surprised at the turn of events but that didn't make it hurt any less.

Santana sighed, she hated the crestfallen look on the singers face but at the same time she knew that it was time to face facts, "I stay with The New Directions because I love to sing but if I'm honest this year…you're the only reason I'm would even consider staying with them."

"And the music…" Rachel said, trying to hide the blush rising up her cheeks.

"Come on, I barely get to sing." Santana countered, "Yeah I got to do Valerie but if I was in The Troubletones I'd actually get a chance to be the star for once and I wouldn't have to deal with all the fighting and bitching. Maybe they'd want me around."

Rachel bit her lip at the words; she couldn't exactly argue with that after all she was kind of the definition of wanting to be centre stage, "I want you around, I don't want you to leave."

"And I'm not saying for definite that I'm going to." Santana replied quickly, "It's just something I'm considering, okay?"

Rachel nodded sadly as she allowed Santana to drag her out of the school and towards the parking lot, the thought of Santana joining Shelby's group made her heart hurt not to mention her stomach. The Troubletones were nothing at the moment but with Santana as the lead Rachel didn't even want to think about the trouble that could cause the New Directions, after all the cheerleader was pretty much the reason they had managed to pull out a tie with The Warblers last year. She couldn't exactly blame her friend for wanting to leave, after all she didn't see the club as family, and the fact was Santana was still searching for her family. Rachel only hoped that she would get to be a part of it even if it meant Santana joining The Troubletones.

"Look…" Santana said as she and Rachel climbed into her car and slammed the doors shut, "I haven't made a decision yet so can we not…can we please just get some food and watch some mindless zombie flicks and not be all awkward and angry, please?"

Rachel smiled as she relaxed into her seat, "Okay, if you want we can go back to mine; order in Breadsticks and watch Dawn of the Dead?"

The engine roared into life as Santana grinned, "After the day we've just had that sounds perfect."

"I'll even make you cookies and braid your hair." Rachel teased.

"Don't push your luck." Santana chuckled, a thoughtful look on her face as she grinned, "Actually on second thoughts, you can make me those cookies."