Chapter 1:

AN: Guests, please leave a name rather than just 'guest' so I can reply to you by name!

Guest: Thank you! :) I'll definitely be continuing. I'll probably update once a week like I do with my other fanfictions because I'm currently working on about eight fanfictions!

Quinn Fabray let out a sigh as she rapped on the door one more time. She was about to turn around and leave when the door flew open and her best friend Rachel Berry came crashing into her.

"Sorry I'm late, Q," She said, linking her arm through Quinn's and pulling the blonde along at a rapid speed, as if Quinn was the one that was late. "I had some stuff to take care of."

Quinn raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow. "Stuff? What sort of stuff?"

Rachel shrugged and Quinn noticed that she was wearing more make-up than usual- to cover something up? "Oh, you know, stuff." Quinn just giggled and let it go, knowing Rachel well enough to know that she wasn't in the mood to talk right now. She knew that Rachel's two fathers loved her but that they could be very… stressful sometimes. They'd known that Rachel was talented from a young age but obviously at three years old she didn't push herself. So ever since then, they'd entered her for beauty pageants, cheerleading, dancing and singing competitions and summer camps, and so on. They'd been the people that she'd joined all the sixteen clubs she was a part of for, they were the reason that Rachel had tried so hard to become the first ever freshman to be the captain of the Cheerio's. Quinn felt like she should hate them- after all, despite the fact that her own parents hated the 'Berry' name and Rachel was only allowed round their house when Russell was away, the two sets of parents were very similar and she hated her parents- and yet despite this, Quinn was thankful that the Berry men had pushed their daughter, because otherwise the two girls never would have becoming best friends at cheerleading camp in first grade, and they never would have been able to rule over the high school together.

Quinn badly wanted to talk to her friend, to ask her what was wrong, but Rachel wasn't really there, her mind was clearly reeling. So the two of them speed-walked to school in a comfortable silence.

When they arrived at McKinley they met up with Brittany and Santana, and the four of them marched down the hallways as if they owned it- they practically did. People parted, and seniors scrambled to get the sophomore girls' approval.

"See you at try-outs?" Quinn asked Rachel.

"Um, yeah." Her best friend forced a small smile and then turned to her left and headed to her first class with Santana. Quinn couldn't help but stare at her as she went, her ponytail bobbing from side to side, her hips swaying in synch with her soft, velvety hair. Stop staring at her and walk, Quinn told herself for the first- and undoubtedly not last- time that school year.

Santana Lopez chewed on her pen as she stared at her friend and tried to work out just what it was that had changed. The first thing she'd said to Rachel was "you look different" and she hadn't stopped thinking about it since. It wasn't the haircut- it was still the same length and bangs as all of freshman year- she hadn't lost or gained any weight, she and Puck hadn't broken up- at that Santana paused. Why hadn't Puck broken up with Rachel? She knew he liked her, but he wasn't the type of boy to date someone because he liked them. Maybe for a little while but the two of them had been dating since halfway through freshman year, and Puck wouldn't stay with someone who wouldn't put out. Which must mean- Santana practically screamed as she hugged Rachel, who was beside her.

"Are you feeling alright?" Senora Gonzales asked. "Would you like to go to the nurse's office?" She'd forgotten that they were in Spanish.

"I'm fine," Santana said. Senora Gonzales stared at the two cheerleaders for a minute but then turned around, grabbed a pen and started to write on the whiteboard.

"What's your problem?" Rachel hissed.

"Well done on losing the Big V," Santana smirked.

Rachel went pale. "What?" Santana repeated herself and seeing no way out, Rachel whispered, "Thanks."

"Now the only one of us that needs to join the anti-celibacy club is Q," Santana said. "Unless she had a fun summer too."

Rachel waited until Senora Gonzales turned around again, and then Rachel whispered, "Look, San, you can't tell anyone."

"Why not?" Asked a genuinely confused Santana. "This is cool. Plus you do realise Puck will have told everyone already." She pointed out.

Rachel frowned, "I hope not. I made him promise on his manhood."

"See, I know you don't even know that's a dirty reference, so I'm going to go with that you're referencing something old fashioned. If you are, R, you are fifteen, not fifty, act your age. Also, sex is cool. You need to keep up your cool factor. USE THAT!"

"Santana, I'm not a slut. I don't want to show off about-"

"Ladies!" Mrs Gonzales said. "Were you listening?"

Rachel nodded sweetly. "Of course we were Senora Gonzales."

Senora Gonzales nodded. "Well, okay then, please have a conversation on the topic we were just discussing."

Rachel nudged Santana and indicated the worksheets in her hand that at the top said "mi tiempo libre"- my free time. Poor woman didn't know they both spoke fluent Spanish!

"Hola, Santana (hello Santana)" Rachel said. "Qué haces en tu vacances (what do you do in your holidays)?"

"Hola Rachel. Generalemente yo juego el voleibol con mi hermana et les chicos calientes en Espagna pero el ano pasado, nous jugamos el voleibol con les chicos calientes en Italia (Hello Rachel. Usually, I play volleyball with my sister and hot boys in Spain but last year, we played volleyball with hot boys in Italy)!"

None of the students seemed to understand, but Senora Gonzales' embarrassed expression, red face and swift decision to move on made the girls even more popular. They high-fived quickly as Senora Gonzales turned around.

Quinn stood alone in the changing rooms the next day, before cheer practise. The previous day there hadn't been practise as it was try-outs, which Rachel had to attend, but today it was back on. Quinn had been avoiding her best friend for the past twenty four hours as she was scared Rachel was mad at her. She hadn't walked in with her and when Rachel texted she said she'd woken up late and her mom had driven her. Anyway, now she was waiting for the three of them. She'd been waiting for ten minutes and she would have to go soon if her friends didn't show up. Thankfully, at that moment Rachel, Brittany and Santana hurried into the room, dumped their bags and Rachel linked her arm through Quinn's arm, pulling her along.

"Where were you three?" Quinn asked. "You know how Coach Sylvester gets if we're late!"

Santana shrugged. "She won't get mad at her favourite." She teased, poking Rachel. "I bet R could get away with murder."

"Maybe bank robbery," Rachel giggled, seeming in a better mood than she had been in that morning, but Quinn knew better. Brittany suddenly linked arms with Santana and pulled her out to the field at a run. Rachel took Quinn's hand and followed.

"R, where have you been?" Coach Sylvester asked, ignoring the others.

"Sorry Coach," Rachel apologised. "My boyfriend needed me to help him tie his shoes." She winked at the others when her coach turned around to pick up her megaphone.

"WARM UP AND THEN WE'LL LEARN THE SECTIONALS ROUTINES AND PERFECT THEM!" The coach shouted into the megaphone, permanently damaging the girls' ears.

Quinn was slightly confused at that- sectionals wasn't for another couple of months- but she knew better than to argue back against the coach. Rachel led the other cheerleaders in the stretches but whispered to her three best friends when they were doing pair stretches (she was stretching against Quinn and Brittany was against Santana) that Noah had told her the footballers had their first game tomorrow as they'd been practising over the summer. Rachel told them she'd asked Coach Sylvester if they weren't going to practise a cheer for that and the coach had just said that they should come up with something on the spot, so Rachel told the three of them to spread the message that they'd practise for that quickly after the official practise.

Coach Sylvester quickly taught the girls the main part of the routine that involved somersaults, fire throwers and… oh yes, cheerleading chants, among other things! After that they practised the tricks. Rachel, Santana, Quinn and Brittany were all fliers, despite Brittany's height. It was what Quinn loved about being a cheerleader- flying through the air and the feeling of time stopping. She trusted her bases and she let them hurl her in the air, knowing they would catch her. She trusted herself and knew that she was flexible and able to do anything she sent her mind to. All she had to do was smile, hold her pose and not tremble. Splits in mid-air, log rolls, holding her leg up to her head. She felt the Coach's eyes on her and felt for a moment that she was going to be picked out and critiqued, but in fact the coach just chastised the squad as a whole.

As soon as she left the "lazy babies", the girls gathered the others and Rachel explained what they'd be doing. The older girls knew the standard chants so Rachel ordered them to practise them to perfection, recruiting Santana to check they were nailing it, and got Brittany and Quinn to help her teach the freshmen and transfer students the chants. It only took them a minute or two and Rachel gave each girl an excited hug before bouncing off. Quinn asked her where she was going, wondering if the two of them could walk home together as usual, but Rachel responded that she was going to 'Noah's house. Quinn just sighed in defeat, hating the fact that Rachel would rather be with him than her, and decided to head home alone.