Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

Happy New Year, you guys. I leave you with this and I hope in return you leave me a review ;) Enjoy!

"I'm so sorry, Rachel."

Rachel sighed and turned to face Finn. He had been apologizing non-stop since morning and frankly, the last thing Rachel wanted to do was speak to him.

She hadn't managed to get a hold of Jesse to tell him about the kiss-her conscience was racked with guilt and although she hadn't initiated it, it didn't make her any less guilty. Maybe she had given Finn mixed signals-who knew. Whatever the reason, she needed to make it right.

"I don't think we should be talking alone, Finn." Rachel stated, beginning to walk away and toward the choir room.

"Do you forgive me?" he asked again. "It was a stupid move and I'm sorry."

Rachel shook her head, clutching her books closer as she reached her seat amongst the other members. From the corner of her eye, she could see how Anne and Sam held each other's hand and the way they gazed at each other in love.

At least one of us is happy and fine, she thought. I don't have a clue how I'm suppose to tell Jesse. Just that I have to tell him.

"Two things, guys." Mr. Schuester announced as he walked in. "First, competition at Sectionals are your classic stool choirs. Great voices but they don't move. Now, in order to beat them we have to do what they can't: dance."

He stepped forward, a smile on his face and suddenly, there was a pit in Rachel's stomach.

"Which is why this year, we're going to feature Brittany and Mike Chang's sweet moves in our performance."

"Wait-" Rachel began. "They're going to be dancing in front of me while I sing my solo?"

Mr. Schuester shook his head. "You're not getting a solo."

There were a chorus of murmurs and the pit in Rachel's stomach grew bigger.

This can't be happening, she thought.

"Finally," Mercedes sassed. "What song am I singing?"

"No!" Rachel finally exclaimed. The pit was released and all Hell broke loose for her. She was beginning to lose her sanity through a kiss; she wasn't about to lose her place in the club.

"Rachel! Sit down!" Mr. Schuester demanded. Rachel looked at him once before sitting down again, still angry.

"Look," Finn began. "I'm all for making everyone feel special and stuff, but that's for practice. You don't take out the star quarterback right before the big game."

"Easy to say when you're the star quarterback," Tina assessed. There was a collective murmur of agreement.

"This isn't about me, it's about the team," Finn retorted, rolling his eyes.

Santana shook her head. "You are such a hypocrite. You and Rachel."

"Hey!" Finn exclaimed, offended at Santana's remark.

Rachel's eyes widened and she turned to face Santana. "What is your problem with me lately? You have been up my butt since the wedding and I am sick of it!"

Finn grabbed her arm. "Come on, Rachel. She's not worth it."

"Really? Because that's not what you thought last year in that motel room?" Santana looked back to Rachel. "In fact, I remember you saying Rachel wasn't worth losing your popularity. Didn't stop you last week, did it?"

Rachel's jaw dropped and Finn looked down.

"What?" Rachel squeaked a bit, her anger rendering her unable to speak properly. Luckily, Mr. Schuester came in, breaking it up.

"Enough, guys. Simmer down." He placed his hands on his waist. "I've always said that everyone is a star in here. Well, it's time to let others shine so," he smiled. "I figured we'd have our winners from the duet competition sing the first song," Mr. Schue said.

Anne and Sam blinked and and Sam nodded. "I think it could be fun," he said. Anne felt him squeeze her hand gently and she shrugged.

"Sure," she said. She looked back to Rachel and frowned a bit. She knew how important solos were to Rachel-however, losing just one wouldn't hurt, right? And it seemed that what Santana had said really upset Rachel-the last thing Anne wanted to do was upset her even more.

"If Rachel's okay with it," Anne added.

All eyes looked to Rachel who was-inconsequentially-still fuming. She blinked, looking back to how happy Sam looked and the conflicted expression on Anne's face. Anne. Jesse's little sister whom had been entrusted to Rachel because Jesse thought it was best. Jesse. The boy that trusted her no matter what.

She gulped, nodding slowly. "It's fine, Anne. I overreacted but it's okay now."

Anne smiled small. "Thanks, Rachel. I know solos mean a lot to you."

Rachel sighed, looking at all of the faces in the glee club. "Yeah, but winning this as a team means more right now."

"That's very big of you, Rachel." Mr. Schuester said. He clapped loudly. "Now, Mike. Brittany. Let's start choreography."

The auditorium was always the best spot for Rachel to think and reflect on the constant problems in her life. Unfortunately, reflecting wasn't going to fix Santana's quip about Finn kissing her.

"Dammit," Rachel hissed as she hit the wrong chord on the piano.

"Rachel, I've been looking for you," Kurt's voice resonated across the stage. Rachel sighed.

"Don't bother getting our set list from me because the only solos I'm getting are in my head."

"Actually, I was wondering if you could help me. I've been sitting in my car waiting for Karofsky to make a food run so I could come inside to talk to you."

Rachel's eyebrows arched. "About?"

Kurt smiled. "I've been invited to audition for a solo for Sectionals. But I can't find the right song to sing and since you are the queen of solos..."

Rachel pursed her lips. "Well, considering that this might be the only chance I have to sing for a little while, sure."

Kurt nodded, placing his CD player on top of the piano. Rachel rummaged through his song selections until she found one that was absolutely brilliant.

"It won't be easy, you'll think it strange..."

Jesse sighed, throwing his books onto his bed. He cracked his neck twice before sitting down and opening up his email. Nothing from Rachel. Perhaps she was still at school.

He scrolled down, answering a few from his theatre buddies. He had to admit, life outside of Ohio was different. It was better. Clearer.

His phone beeped once and he reached for it, not looking at the screen until he closed out of his email.

A message from an unknown number popped up in his cell and he furrowed his brows in confusion.

He opened it up and his expression changed. Someone, he didn't know who, had sent him a picture of Rachel and Finn. They were kissing.

Jesse blinked. Maybe it's an old photo? He thought silently despite feeling his heart beginning to break.

The unknown sender sent him another message, a text this time, and it didn't make him feel any better.

Your girlfriend has been lying to you. She's been hooking up with Finn since you've been gone. Thought you should know, show choir boy. -S.

Jesse let out a breath, feeling his heart sink even more as he dialed Rachel's number.

"And now for our final performance: the McKinley High's New Directions!"

There was a wave of claps and Anne gulped, her nerves kicking in. She breathed in deeply as she turned to look at Sam.

Surprisingly, he was already looking at her.

"What?" she asked softly.

Sam smiled, his eyes sparkling. "You look beautiful."

There was a flutter in her stomach and she blinked, her eyes glistening a bit.

"You are so cheesy," she said, letting out another breath. She heard him chuckle a bit as she retreated to her end of the auditorium entrance.

This was it.

"Now I've had the time of my life, no I never felt like this before," Sam sang, smiling like an idiot. "Yes I swear it's the truth, and I owe it all to you." He motioned to the other curtained entrance as Anne moved in. His smile grew bigger.

"'Cause I've had the time of my life," Anne blinked, her nerves subsiding as she concentrated on the chords of the music and the fact that she was here, happy, and not alone anymore. It's all she'd ever wanted. "And I owe it all to you."

"I've been waiting for so long now I've finally found someone to stand by me," Sam waited until they were level before beginning to walk forward.

"We saw the writing on the wall, as we felt this magical fantasy," she smiled coyly at Sam, her heart beginning to beat faster with adrenaline.

"Now with passion in our eyes

There's no way we could disguise it secretly

So we take each other's hand

'Cause we seem to understand the urgency..."

Both broke eye contact only to run up to the stage and stare at each other again. A few crowd members clapped but Anne didn't care.

"Just remember!" Sam exclaimed, jumping the last step onto the stage.

"You're the one thing," Anne placed her hands on her back and slowly began to walk to center stage.

"I can't get enough of," Sam walked to meet up with her and they turned at the last second, avoiding each other's touch by an inch. He gave her a playful smile. "So I'll tell you something..."

The music's intensity built up and they met in a collision, their hands intertwining. It looked staged (which was great), but this was just them being them. It was magic.

"This could be love!" they sang in unison. "Because..."

"I've had the time of my life..."

"Would you look at that," the announcer said. "It's a tie! Congratulations, you all advance to Regionals."

The crowd clapped and Mr. Schuester rejoiced, holding up the trophy. For a split second, the world seemed great and Rachel hugged the person next to her.

When she pulled back, her smile fell and she pushed him away.

"Sorry," Finn said.

Rachel shook her head. "It's fine. We get to move on, right?"

He didn't look happy. "Yeah. You're right."

She needed to make it right and the only to do that was by talking to Finn about it. She couldn't call him-her phone had precariously disappeared within the week. So Rachel had no choice but to confront him personally.

"When glee club first started, I told Mr. Schue that being a part of something special makes you special-I suppose I lost that somewhere along the way," she said. "And along that, I lost my reasoning and the ability to create friends."

Finn shrugged. "I don't understand."

"I want us to be special-a team." Rachel stated. "And I want us to be amicable friends. No drama. No secrets that could harm each other. No plotting and no vendettas. Friends. Just friends."

Finn looked at her. "Rachel, the way I feel about you..."

"Has to change," Rachel finished. "I'm with Jesse and I'm happy with him. I really am. I need you to understand this so that we can be friends. I do care about you, Finn."

There was a moment of silence before he nodded in agreement. "Okay. I guess it's for the better of the team. I'll try not to force my feelings on you and hopefully they'll change later on."

"Thank you," Rachel said softly. She pulled him in for a hug.

Happiness hit her like a train on a track

Coming towards her, stuck, still no turning back

Rachel heard the phone begin to ring. She placed down her textbook and briskly walked to answer it. "Hello?"

"Rachel."

"Jesse?"

She hid around corners and she hid under beds

She killed it with kisses and from it she fled

Anne smiled as Sam kissed her cheek. They were in her alone in her bedroom despite Anne's mother being so overprotective. Anne supposed that her mom really liked Sam since she didn't say no.

"I love you," Sam whispered against her cheek.

Anne smiled, blushing slightly. "I love you."

Sam's lips pressed against hers and they both tumbled onto her bed.

The dog days are over

The dog days are done

The horses are coming

So you better run

"How could you?" Jesse interrogated firmly across the phone.

Rachel's throat seemed dry. She didn't have any idea how he could have possibly known about the kiss, much less the hugging.

"I didn't do anything-you have to believe me, Jesse."

"I believe the facts against what my heart is telling me," he said. "In fact, my heart is shattered into a thousand pieces, Rachel."

Run fast for your mother, run fast for your father

Run for your children, for your sisters and your brothers

Leave all your love and your longing behind

You can't carry it with you if you want to survive

"Jesse! Listen to me," Rachel pleaded, her eyes beginning to water. She didn't like where this was heading. Her own heart was beginning to break.

"I loved you. I trusted you and you broke my heart, Rachel. Do you have any idea how it feels to finally let your guard down, to trust someone other than yourself and give them everything? Only to see that there's absolutely no one you can trust?"

"Believe me. Trust me." Rachel begged. "I love you with everything that I am. The kiss was a mistake-a mistake I didn't choose to make. He kissed me. I told him that I could only be his friend and we hugged. That was it. Please, believe me."

The dog days are over

The dog days are done

Can you hear the horses?

'Cause here they come

Santana sighed, placing Rachel's phone in her locker. It was a bitchy move, but she had to get the dwarf out of the way somehow. Half of it was for Santana's sake of getting with Finn in order to forget Brittany. The other was because of Jesse's mother. The woman may have seemed like a victimized angel, but she was a crazier bitch than Santana was.

She had to give the woman props.

Santana never cared about Rachel's relationship with the Jesse kid-after all, it never affected her directly. But when a woman comes into your life offering you money, you couldn't say no.

Besides, Santana liked to intervene in other people's business. It was entertaining.

And I never wanted anything from you...

Except everything you had and

What was left after that too, oh

Rachel felt her world break with every word Jesse said to her. He wasn't listening-he couldn't see that she was telling the truth.

"Who told you about all of this?"

"It doesn't matter-I saw the proof. You confirmed it with trying to tell me it wasn't your fault. I-I can't do this."

Silence. "What?"

"I can't do this right now, I-I can't."

The line went dead and Rachel dropped the phone, her legs giving out as she felt the darkness cave into her world.

Run fast for your mother, run fast for your father

Run for your children, for your sisters and your brothers

Leave all your love and your longing behind

You can't carry it with you if you want to survive

Jesse made a mistake telling her he couldn't do it anymore. But what else could he say? He couldn't go on always doubting her love for him; her loyalty. Loyalty that he had returned completely for her. He only had eyes for her and unfortunately, she hadn't. Finn was still in the picture and Jesse couldn't deal with that.

He wouldn't deal with another relationship that was doomed to end at some point. He'd seen it in his father and mother's marriage. He'd seen it in other countless women his father had slept with. Empty promises and empty actions always resulted in an empty life.

A shell of a being that Jesse was determined not to become.

The dog days are over

The dog days are done

Can you hear the horses?

'Cause here they come

The dog days are over

The dog days are done

The horses are coming

Rachel pulled off the pictures of Jesse from her wall-emotions raw and hurting. Her head was pounding from how upset she was but she powered through it, her hands working fast to rip every reminder of Jesse.

She should have learned her lesson the first time. Girls like her didn't find love-girls like her found illusions of love that always faded with time as reality came crashing down.

Stop it, her reasoning side said. Get it together. You are Rachel Berry. You are the only child to a gay couple. You are a future Broadway star. You are a lead singer for glee club. You are strong. You are a fighter.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her mascara had begun to run down her cheeks; eyes red and puffy from the crying. Her hands had crumpled pictures and they were shaking.

Show him you won't give up. Show him there's nothing that you believe in more than your love.

So you'd better run.

;)

-Fanatic4Fiction