Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any of its characters (I do own the wonderful Maria Arioso, however) or the AMAZING Billy Joel's music (which I am guilty for singing whilst I wrote this chapter)
A/N: WOW, you guys are such wonderful support! Thank you to ch4lsk0, onesmartmess, BabyTigerVampire, umbrellaleg, Gleeeek, tsketch, Music and Reading Lover, razberry1, w1cked, Adannels, sillysah, SoFlaComet, always-smile15, Buffy-Obssessed, , kbells, aquarius127, k-la15, KW05, AnaFaberry, Omgoth, nooneknowsmymy, Musicfutbolfan06, kpisawesome, BleachedBlondeDork, lnkmstr10, Sannie, LeQueen, Charlie Lately, Achelette, FireBowser, Princesakarlita411, clouddreamzz, RandomOtakuFromTumblr, paynedpanic, slamdimekicks, sapphiclove21, d80p, Sohverit, IloveRockAndRoll, Directions, spizle, FicAddy, Saurus, Aaml-sp5, KuraiNova, DarkInu418, anonythemouse, gleefulness, bathtoeb, Musicmakesmehigh, smartblonde317, em31792, soraya.s, iloveTRIPLEbrownies, makurutenoh, I'mVeryObsessed, ms-rappy-sleeper, Willowfan, G6-flying, and annalucindaberry for their lovely comments. Here's the next chapter thanks to all your lovely reviews. If you'd like another chapter, just leave a review so I know that there's people out there who want it. :)
Chapter 4: Tryout
"Quinn Fabray was actually nice to you?"
The question was followed by a series of choked hacks and a rather violent thumping on the back on Rachel's part.
"Is it really that hard to believe?" Rachel furrowed her brow, pouring herself a healthy dose of coffee milk from the thermos Leroy had handed her that morning.
Rachel was relieved when second, third, and fourth period passed by without a hitch. She spent her time between classes looking around the corner to make sure the hallway was free of jocks, scanning her classrooms for any potential threats, and going out of her way to keep her head down so that she couldn't spark any sort of fight.
Her first morning at McKinley was something right out of a Soap Opera or sick comedy show. Coming to a school with jocks that felt the proper way to bully someone was throwing someone into a dumpster, welcoming them with a slushy to the face, or (Rachel had heard this from Tina in between third and fourth) being locked in a portapotty and dumping it on its side had really not been on Rachel's bucket list.
If Rachel had known anything about McKinley High School before her Dad enrolled her, she would've begged him to enroll her elsewhere. The last thing she ever wanted was to get into a fight with a bunch of stupid meatheads.
Because despite the fact that Rachel trained to fight for the last five years of her life, and she was admittedly good at it, she hated to hurt people.
She hated the feel of blood fresh on her fingers, on her feet, and the stinging taste of iron in her mouth. She hated feeling the sickening crunch of bone breaking, flesh ripping, and cartilage cracking beneath her fingers.
Fighting taught her that the human body was fragile. The slightest bit of pressure could rip off an arm, close off blood supply to a limb, or rob a person of air. If a person punched just so, they would bring death shortly behind the blow.
And she'd been so close to losing it this morning. She'd been so close to doing something that she'd regret.
It'd only been a few hours into the day, and McKinley High had her fighting. What, then, would the next year bring?
And then there was Quinn Fabray, the strange Cheerleader with the golden eyes. She'd helped her, been friendly to her. She stopped those jocks, threatened them, and helped Tina. But for what reasons?
What did Quinn get out of helping them?
The concept of help without cost was foreign to Rachel. Her entire life, she'd been aware that any sort of help she'd received had been in exchange for something. It was the way the world worked. The way High School ran.
The school gave the Chamber Singers mass amounts of money, the Chamber Singers won events and repaid the amount in kind. The band gave them instrumentalists for their ensemble songs, and Rachel was given to themto boost their scores in Jazz competition.
Her Papa wanted her to provide the swab from the back of her throat, and he promised her that she'd never hear the two of them fight again.
And she never did hear her Fathers fight again after that day.
Because Papa took her away from Dad.
He had no reason to yell anymore.
But Rachel couldn't figure out, for the life of her, what Quinn Fabray got in return for her trouble. Certainly not notoriety or power. It was clear from the way that the mocking throng of students parted for the Cheerleader that Quinn already had both in excess.
Certainly not an opportunity to rip Rachel and Tina to shreds. She'd saved them, taken care of Rachel's bloody lip, given Tina a fresh change of clothes (despite the fact that the Goth's clothing was now a McKinley High sweatshirt and red shorts, and she no longer wore heavy amounts of liner because of the slushy), and threatened everyone in the school who dared to hurt either one of them again.
Rachel saw how genuine Quinn's intentions were. There was not an ounce of deception hidden in her bearing. Only those curious barriers that roped themselves handily about the Cheerleader's emotions.
And because Quinn had been so kind and generous with Rachel, she assumed that the blonde always held herself as such.
But apparently it was not so, if the way that Tina's dark brown eyes were glazed over with shock held any sort of indication.
"Quinn Fabray's the head Cheerio, and the biggest bitch in school," Tina sat down in her seat (she had stood up and, to Rachel's chagrin, almost knocked over the singer's precious coffee draught). "At the start of last year, she ordered over a hundred slushies on the student body. A large amount of those went in the faces of the original Glee Clubbers."
"At the start of the year?" Rachel paused mid-chew of her peanut butter and nutella sandwich. "If she was really such a bitch, then why didn't she do it for the rest of the year?"
"Because she got pregnant."
Rachel started gasping and coughing, hacking as she fought to regain composure. A tentative hand made her jump, sending her choking to new heights as it gently patted her on the back.
As she regained control of her breathing, Rachel saw a glint of metal through the corner of her watery eyes, moving smoothly by her side as she clutched at the lunch table.
"I'm sorry I startled you," a sheepish, deep baritone sounded from the end of the table to Rachel's left. The hand continued to slap her back as the coughs began to subside. "I just thought you might need a little help."
Rachel wiped the tears from her eyes, blurred vision subsiding to reveal the owner of the mysterious voice.
A boy with thick rimmed, square-shaped glasses set across thin features smiled embarrassedly back at her, gloved hand scratching nervously at his cheek. His pale skin was rosy across his cheeks, blue eyes filled with apprehension.
And he was… in a wheelchair.
"It's okay," Rachel smiled in an attempt to ease the poor boy's worries.
The boy's shoulders relaxed as he rested his arms against the rests of his chair. He grinned, rolling forward and placing his lunch tray on the table as he glanced over at the Asian. "Tina, who's your new friend?"
"Rachel, this is Artie. Artie, this is the new girl, Rachel Berry," Tina gestured between the two.
Rachel winced. The new girl? It seemed everywhere she turned, she was 'the new girl.' It was a bit tiring to be described as such. Is that what she'd be known as the whole year? The 'new girl?'
"Nice to meet you, Rachel," Artie stabbed his spork into the strange goop on his plate (Rachel gave up trying to identify what sort of food the nameless mass was supposed to be). Blue orbs flickered between the two girls. "So I heard you ladies talking about Quinn?"
"Rachel's unfamiliar with Quinn's attitude," Tina replied.
"Really?" Artie furrowed his brow. "Most people around here, even the new kids, know. In fact, haven't you gotten your 'welcome' slushy yet?"
"Quinn actually spared her of that indignity this morning after Rachel told some jocks to buzz off," Tina interjected before Rachel could open her mouth. "She downsized Langley and Peterson after they hit her."
Artie's eyes widened considerably (was it really such a surprise?). "Oh… no wonder."
"I know, right? It's a total three sixty."
"So Quinn was pregnant last year?" Rachel broke the flow of wide-eyed dialogue between the two friends, taking a hearty sip of coffee and leaning on the table. She'd already heard the story being repeated over and over again behind whispered hands and pointed stares as she passed through the hallways. It'd be nice if her lunchtime could be 'new-girl-tells-off-jock-gets-slapped-cheerios-help' story free.
It seemed to work, because Artie and Tina's attention immediately jumped back into the baby drama.
The girl spun a complex web that made Rachel's brain ache at the amount of power it took to digest.
Last year, apparently Quinn Fabray and Finn Hudson (the lanky, friendly, albeit dopey looking boy Rachel met that very morning) were the golden couple of the school. Quinn was the beautiful, popular, righteous, perfect All-American Cheerio. The youngest Captain of the team, directly pointed out of JV by Sue Sylvester, and President of the Celibacy Club and Christ Crusaders.
She'd had a great sort of prejudice against the new Glee Club, slushying them at every turn and spitting out cruel forms of insult in passing. She ordered each of them a daily slushy, garbage dump, and portapotty bath by the football team on numerous occasions. Quinn was known to be a bitch, and she made sure that every single loser in the school knew their place.
Quinn had been one of the three Cheerios sent into Glee Club to throw off their chemistry. Instead, she proved to be one of its most valuable assets. She and Finn paired up as the lead singers of the club, and were later appointed (by Mr. Schue) as the Captains.
But Quinn cheated on Finn with Noah Puckerman, the school's bad boy heartthrob, after he got her drunk and slept with her. In the end, Quinn ended up pregnant and took a tumble down the social pyramid, taking Finn with her.
Quinn kept the baby's parentage a secret from Finn and focused on Glee Club after Sue kicked her out of Cheerios. She led the team to victory during Sectionals (much to Sue's rage), and managed to maintain her popularity with help from Santana (the Latina girl Rachel met earlier) and Brittany.
Finn was outraged to discover that Quinn's baby was not his own. After Quinn confessed one day after Glee, the Club had had to shield the pregnant girl from the massive amount of flying objects hurling toward her as Finn lashed out at her in rage. Puck (apparently the name of Quinn's baby daddy) got into a fist fight with Finn, trying to subdue him, and the two ended up suspended from school for two good weeks.
Glee Club members took turn looking after Quinn (who'd been thrown from her house by her parents, and then Finn) at their homes while they prepared for Regionals, and throughout the process, Quinn became mellower toward the Glee Club. She defended them, with the help of a few loyal cheerleaders, from the abuse of the sports teams, and ensured each of them a slushy free year.
During Regionals, Quinn went into labor in the middle of the performance (she somehow, according to Artie, managed to make it through the whole of the Journey Medley before needing to go to the hospital) and had her baby—a little girl—shortly thereafter.
"What happened to the baby?" Rachel bridged her hands and leaned forward.
"She gave her up," Tina sighed, frowning. "She said she couldn't take care of her."
"But after the baby was gone, Quinn stopped talking to us," Artie's bright blue eyes dimmed. "When she came back from summer this year, she was just like she at the beginning of last year, minus the Glee Club abuse."
Rachel rubbed her temples as her head throbbed with the excess information. "My God… this is all sounding very much like a terrible soap opera."
Artie stroked his chin, tongue sticking forth from his mouth as his face screwed up in thought. "You know, I never really thought about that before."
"I don't think anyone really thinks about it when they're in the moment," Tina chimed in, shrugging her shoulders.
"I think my brain is going to explode from info overload," Rachel muttered, silently wishing for an Advil to quell her rapidly developing headache.
Today had been incredibly confusing. So many things had happened, and it was more than the poor singer dealt with in all her years in San Diego. Her life there had been routine. Calming. Peaceful. She treasured it dearly after the sad incident between her Fathers. She knew what drama could do to the mind of any rational person, because she'd been caught amidst it since things between her Fathers crumbled away.
It tore her apart inside. Because she couldn't tell anyone at school, since she never had any friends, and she couldn't tell any of her friends during her lessons. Hiram was always a step behind her. He felt terrible if he left her alone, even for the slightest second. And even if he was not directly beside her, he was somewhere in the same room at all times back in those days.
So Rachel had to keep her mouth shut, had to smile and pretend that she wasn't falling to pieces in side. She had to pretend that she didn't cry at night because she listened to her fathers scream obscenities at each other.
She just had to be the perfect little girl and hide the whole affair under her sunny Broadway smiles and eagerness.
Lima, Ohio seemed to make her a magnet for unwanted drama.
And Rachel hated drama.
"Getting back on topic," Rachel's hands slid lowly down her face. "Quinn's never this friendly with anyone?"
"No," Tina crosses her arms thoughtfully, tapping her foot, before adding, "not unless she's about to destroy them mentally with a hundred verbal barbs or sic Santana on them. But you didn't do anything to piss her off so-."
"You're safe," the wheelchair ridden boy finished.
"Joy," Rachel grunted, shaking her head glumly. Right back at square one: having absolutely no idea why in the world Quinn Fabray, All-American Cheerleader, would treat her so kindly. She had hoped that knowing a bitmore about the Cheerio would enlighten her.
It just made things worse.
There was a long stretch of silence between the three friends as they sat, munching silently on their food, shifting awkwardly as they searched for a new topic.
Rachel spoke, growing a bit irritated at the lack of conversation. "So has the Glee Club met yet?"
The subject piqued interest, Tina and Artie visibly brightening.
"Right now we're going through solos," Artie popped open a bag of Doritos with a slight wince. "We're at a standstill because we don't have twelve members."
"Twelve members?" Rachel's features screwed in confusion. "There's a certain amount?"
"Yeah. You need at least twelve members to compete," Tina explained. "One of our guys just transferred out of state, so now we only have eleven. We really need-."
The Asian suddenly jerked in her seat, eyes wide as a bolt of realization ran through them. She shifted forward, smirking at Rachel.
A cold chill fell over the guitarist's shoulders. "Tina, I'd really like it if you'd stop looking at me like that… It's making me feel very uneasy."
Because Rachel knew that smirk. The quirk of the brow, and the mischievousness radiating off of the Asian's slight figure mad her recollect identical thoughts of a certain red-headed, pierced up face in the exact same pose.
It was one of Maria's most common facial expressions, and its appearance usually spelled massive amounts of danger for any parties involved her the plot (Rachel was its most frequent victim).
The singer was sure it would be the same in this case as well. Her fight and flight senses were already firing and her muscles were screaming at her to 'RUN LIKE HELL!' to avoid certain death.
It doubled as Artie's kind features took on the exact same dangerous expression.
"Rachel, by any chance," the Goth's voice was soft and sweet, with a hint of an evil, menacing edge to it, "do you… I don't know… sing very well?"
Rachel blinked. "I wouldn't know if I can sing… well, but I was in Chamber Singers for two years."
A series of quick glances and nods between Artie and Tina was quickly exchanged before both of them turned stern-eyed looks upon a mystified Rachel.
"Join Glee Club," Tina stated simply.
"I don't know if I-."
"Please Rachel!" Artie reached across the table, grabbing the girl's hand desperately. "We have eleven members and it's only a month until Sectionals. If we don't have enough people to qualify, Glee Club is over."
"It's only two hours a day after school," Tina added, grabbing the singer's other palm, leaning across the table.
Rachel looked at each friend, gazing rather earnestly at her, pleading silently through touch and the blazing connection formed between their intertwined gazes. She watched them and she thought.
She loved to sing and dance more than anything else in the world. They allowed her to reach out and share her emotions with a willing audience. Dance classes gave her that power through movement, and Chamber singers through voice.
Here was an opportunity to utilize both in tandem. To do something remarkable.
She'd thought of joining New Directions throughout the day. Perhaps even before she'd returned to Lima. During some choir competitions, she'd had the rare opportunity to see some of the best Show Choirs the nation had to offer.
She wanted to join the Glee Club. But after everything that happened that morning, she wasn't so sure anymore. She knew that something would happen. Something greater than she could possibly imagine. The singer felt it in her bones, a growing sense of dread.
It nauseated her.
Rachel bit her lip, brown orbs flickering with uncertainty. "I'm not sure that I should. I mean, I'm just getting settled in-."
"One day, Rach," Tina tightened her grasp, forcing the singer to look at her. "Just one day. If you don't like it, then you don't have to come back, and we won't say a word about it ever again."
"But please," Tina pleaded, "please just try."
And at those words, Rachel knew she was caught.
Tina had been so good to her. She stood up for Rachel, barely a friend, in the hallway and had been punished for it. Rachel owed her to at least try the club out.
So Rachel swallowed heavily, smiling hesitantly.
"Alright… just one day."
After sixth period Pre-Calculus Honors (the teacher spent the period rambling about his daughters at Carmel High school and telling lame jokes, much to Rachel's chagrin), Tina dragged Rachel down the hall and directly into the band room without so much as a word to her friend's face.
The singer stumbled headfirst into the room upon Tina's enthusiastic shove to her back, tripping over the heels of her black converse as she struggled to steady herself.
"Well well, if it isn't the fiery little short stack who slushied the apes this morning," a smoky, husky voice mused from somewhere in front of her.
Rachel's gaze snapped up to meet an amused set of dark blacks set into the exotic face of the young Latina cheerleader she'd met earlier.
The Cheerio is seated in a cheap red chair on a set of risers snugly hugging the red tiled wall. Beside her, the blonde Cheerio who assisted Tina sat, leaning her head against the Latina's shoulder with a contented smile across her lips. There were several other people safely tucked into the room (you recognize Finn and Artie among them), watching the interaction between you and Santana curiously.
"If it isn't the bitchy cheerleader who helped me this morning," the singer retorted, eyes narrowing in distaste. Anger pulsed through Rachel's veins. She'd never taken jokes about her height very well. It was a very sensitive topic.
Instead of growing outraged, like most of the people the guitarist insulted, Santana (at least, that's what Rachel thought her name was) just threw the girl a bone-chilling smirk, lacing her caramel colored fingers through Brittany's silky gold hair. "Down midget, no need to get all offended."
"Guys, I brought us a new member," Tina chirruped with a smile, effectively ending all argument between the two (though that didn't stop Rachel from continuing to glare at a very amused Santana). "This is Rachel Berry, she used to be in a choir in San Diego, but she's here for the school year."
"Can she sing well?" a high-pitched voice questioned from the back of the risers.
A rather well coiffed boy wearing a clean oxford shirt, black bowtie, and starched black slacks regarded Rachel with a somewhat dismissive expression. Beside him, a heavy African American girl chuckled at her friend's obvious distaste for the singer.
"Hummel, she was in a choir," an annoyed, rich voice interjected (Rachel noticed a mohawked, surly looking boy in the front cross his arms, glaring over his shoulder at the pair). "Put two and two together. Of course she can sing."
"You don't know that," 'Hummel' argued, scoffing. "There's always room for fillers if the choir is desperate enough."
Rachel rolled her eyes, tapping her foot as she watched the two boys go at it. She, by now, had grown used to the constant amount of confrontation at McKinley High. It was a part of school culture, it seemed, to try to outdo your neighbor or demean someone at every turn.
Tina tried desperately to regain control of the situation, opening her mouth to talk, only to shut it when each moment for her to slip into the argument passed in a nanosecond.
The spat continued, even as Mr. Schue entered the room, messenger bag slung over his arm and a puzzled look across his handsome features. He offered a hand to Rachel, who shook it with an apologetic smile, and tried, alongside Tina, to get a word in edgewise.
The guitarist was leaning against the side of the glossy black piano in the room, exchanging amused looks with the pianist (he told her, rather quietly, that his name was Brad), before that familiar, chilling itch ran the course of her spine.
Quinn.
And indeed, the Cheerleader had just entered the room, duffle bag draped across her torso, a binder tucked under one arm. Hazel eyes found brown, a shy smile coming to grace Quinn's lips as she threw a tiny wave in Rachel's direction.
Just as quickly though, that same gaze hardened as the blonde stepped up to the arguing pair, throwing back her hand and smacking the mohawked boy in the back of the head with a scowl.
"What the Hell, Quinn!" the punk yelped, rubbing the throbbing area with a grimace. "What the heck was that for?"
"I don't know if you've noticed," the cheerleader crossed her arms. "But it's time for Glee. Mr. Schue's been standing here for a while, and now it's time for you idiots to stop fighting. You're going to scare off the new girl."
Almost instantly, there was an audible silence in the room as the two boys snapped their jaws shut under the glare that Quinn steadily locked on each of them. The blonde took a seat beside Santana and Brittany, arms still crossed defiantly, though features much softer as she observed Rachel.
"You're here to join, Rachel?" Mr. Schue asked, eyebrows lifting in surprise.
"U-uhm… I'd like to," the girl said, fidgeting with the leather of her bag's strap. Brown eyes locked onto the ground, suddenly finding the floor very interesting.
The Spanish teacher gave the girl a faint smile. "That's great! But if you don't mind, we'd love to hear you sing a piece. It's sort of a tradition. An audition you can't fail, just so we can get a feel of what kind of singer you are. Is that alright?"
Rachel nodded, returning the teacher's grin as she placed her bag by a leg of the piano. She straightened, brushing her bangs out of her eyes, breathing in deeply. "I'd like to sing-."
"Are you going to do something choral?"
The boy, 'Hummel', looked at her rather pointedly.
Rachel furrowed her brow. "Yes, I was. I've had extensive practice in that field."
"Girl, I don't think that we need to hear something choral," the boy snapped, blue eyes flashing. "This is show choir. Glee Club. We don't sing choral music."
Rachel ground her teeth in annoyance, that dangerous, maroon color returning to the edges of her irises. She couldn't stand people like this kid. People who thought they were entitled to opinions about people they knew nothing about. People who judged based on first impressions.
It was this sort of ignorance that led to the cruelty that she endured at the hands of her schoolmates year after year. Being friends with Maria made her unlearn the tolerance that she had in dealing with it.
She'd make him eat his words.
"Alright," Rachel acceded, lips caught in a tight line as she slipped her arms out of her leather jacket, throwing it to the floor beside her bag. "No choir music? Fine. I can do that."
She looked to Brad. "Hey, could you get on a keyboard for me? Help me with a little Billy Joel action?"
The pianist grinned, nodding as the girl whispered the selection into his ear. He stood from the piano bench, fiddling with the dials on the keyboard as Rachel whispered to the band, taking a guitar from one of the kids and inclining her head in thanks.
Mr. Schue took a seat in the front as Rachel stood, adjusting the dials of the cherry red guitar and testing the feed. She slipped her finger up the neck, fiddling with the tuning of the strings, before nodding back at the Brad.
Lithe, callused fingertips pressed at the strings as the singer strummed for several bars, Brad joining in on synthesizer.
The diva parted her lips as the notes faded from existence, a melodious, powerful voice emitting from between her lips. "I am the entertainer, and I know just where I stand! Another serenader and another long-haired band. Today I am your champion, I may have won your hearts. But I know the game, you'll forget my name. I won't be here in another year if I don't stay on the charts."
Rachel grinned as she watched eyes widen at the strength of her voice. She knew they hadn't been expecting that. No one really ever did. Her Fathers had been surprised the first moment they heard her sing at eighteen months, enunciating each word perfectly and with crisp precision. Something that seemed impossible for people without proper vocal training.
But Rachel was special. She had a voice, and she wasn't naïve enough not to know how good she was. She'd gotten compliments at Carnegie hall for her solos. During competitions, the rival teams would watch slack-jawed as her voice rose strongly above her teammate's and dominated the hymns with such sweetness.
'Hummel' looked as though he could've eaten his bowtie. Finn looked as though someone had placed some sort of crab in his pants, as wide as his eyes were. Artie and Tina's disbelieving stares made them look like they'd been doused with a brigade of slushies. Santana seemed like she could care less, but Brittany was clapping her hands together with a sort of bright grin. Mr. Schue was slack-jawed.
And Quinn?
Quinn seemed entranced. She rested on elbows on her knees, leaning forward, catching the music with a tight-lipped look of utter concentration.
Those remarkable eyes turned a dark shade of forest green, amber lost to its intensity. They were filled to the brim with some sort of nameless emotion, almost adoring, with a cocktail of others that surfaced in droves with every second, endlessly shifting about.
Rachel almost lost track of her lines and the chords that she was strumming furiously on the borrowed guitar. Her mouth felt as though it was filled with cotton. She could feel herself stumble the slightest bit on the next verse of the song, cursing in the back of her mind at the slip up.
She mentally scolded herself. She couldn't back down on this performance. This was her official first impression. Screw the rest of the school. The Glee Club was the audience, and the audience was the only thing that mattered during a performance.
She couldn't allow herself to slip up just because she was having problems with the loaded looks that Quinn Fabray always seemed to store just for her. No, it was time to give the best possible performance.
So the singer concentrated, immersing herself in the song, belting out the lyrics with ease as the rest of the Glee Club began to sway in tandem with the catchy rhythm. She focused on her breathing and enunciation, blocked out the rest of the room, and sang out all of her frustrations from the day.
By the end, she stood, panting and bowing as the Glee club applauded enthusiastically.
"That was simply amazing, Rachel," Mr. Schue clasped the girl on the shoulder, shaking it slightly as the rest of the Glee Club whistled in agreement.
"I have to say," 'Hummel' said, clapping with a faint smile on his face, "you definitely proved me wrong. You're a welcome addition."
"I think this club needs another hot, badass Jew in its arsenal," the mohawked boy smirked, appraising Rachel rather lecherously (the singer could have almost swear she saw Quinn glare daggers at the boy for a split second. "I say she's in."
"Home girl can sing," the African American girl stated, throwing her hands up.
"Midget's in," Santana simply said, glaring about the room for anyone who would possibly argue.
"I like her," Brittany beamed. "She's like a singing, kickass dwarf."
Rachel swallowed as Quinn straightened herself, crossing her arms and leaning back against the support of her chair. There was no trace of the Cheerio's earlier intensity, and it scared Rachel to think what the girl would say. There was no like, no dislike. Nothing. It was the least response she'd ever gotten out of anyone.
Until a gentle smile broke across the blonde's lips and bottle green returned to its normal amber state after a few moments of intense study.
Quinn shrugged her shoulders, laughing melodiously. The sound made Rachel's spine crawl with some sort of foreign sensation.
"She's a gleek," the head Cheerio said, shaking her head, pearly whites showing between full red lips. "There's no doubting it. She's definitely one of us."
Rachel tried to ignore the way a certain warmth grew in her stomach as the blonde's voice swept over her. Instead, she watched Mr. Schue nod in assent, before walking over and holding out his hand.
"Well Rachel," he smiled as the brunette took his hand lightly, giving it a firm shake. "Welcome to New Directions."
A/N: The song in this chapter is 'The Entertainer' By Billy Joel. If you haven't heard it before, you should listen to it, it's one of my absolute favorites :) If you'd like another chapter, leave a review so I know people would like to read more. They motivate me to write for you guys :)