Glee 1. Becoming Rae Corcoran

_Hi everyone, I have had this idea for a while now and really wanted to try and see if i could write it, i am sorry for putting my other fics on hold but this got me a little excited. I have no idea if it will be any good or not as it took me a week to figure out how to get this on paper, plus work, so it has been a bit of a struggle. Hope you like it. _

_I do not own glee!_

* * *

Hi, my name is Rachel Barbara Berry; I live in Lima, Ohio with my two gay dads. Correction, I used to live in Lima, Ohio with my two gay dads', now I just live in Lima, Ohio.

They didn't die or anything like that, they just never came back. When I was younger they used to disappear on business trips for months at a time and, consequently, I had to grow up faster than expected. I learned how to cook, clean, shop and all the other things involved with running a household. I was 9 years old...

I thought that they were just going on another business trip, but after 9 months of waiting, I started to become a little anxious, but there was nothing I could do. I had finally accepted that they had left me after a year of waiting and here I am now, 2 years later, working 3 different jobs to pay the bills as well as attending high school.

I can't tell anybody I am living by myself in case they phone the authorities and have social services take me away; I am only 15 years old after all. Getting trapped in the fostering system is not something I plan on.

"Man hands!" is yelled down the corridor and just as I turn around to face this person, I find myself slammed back into the lockers with the front of my sweater gripped tightly.

"Hello to you too Santana, would you mind terribly releasing your grip on the front of my sweater, I find this very unbecoming of a young lady and I would appreciate some breathing space" I say as calmly as possible looking at her in the eye's.

"Shut up dwarf, I have a message from Quinn" she says with an evil smile and it takes everything in me not to shudder out of fear. She brings her face close to my ear, pressing me firmly against the lockers, "Stay away from Finn or it will be the last thing you ever do in this school" she finishes, tightening her grip for added affect.

Finn? Seriously? The only reason I had been chasing him around was to convince him to join New directions, once I had heard him singing to himself, there was no doubt in my mind that he would make the perfect leading man, not someone I wanted to date. He is lacking the intelligence and compatibility to be boyfriend material, besides, there is one minor detail that has a huge contributing factor as too why we could never date...

"I believe your assumption of my pursuit of Finn is completely misguided, I have no interest in dating him, I only wished for him to join new directions and put his musical talents to good use. However, if Quinn does not feel as though she can trust Finn to remain loyal to their relationship, then maybe she should join Glee club as well" I finish with a shrug. The club needs more members if we are going to compete in sectionals, so why not try and convince the cheerleaders to join?

"Can you stop with your bullshit rambles?! Just back the fuck off of Finn and we won't have a problem. Got it?" She says menacingly to which I gulp nervously.

"While I find your use of language distasteful and completely unnecessary, I can assure you that I will not be pursuing Finn Hudson in the near nor distant future." I tend to ramble when I'm nervous, and having my life threatened, is a very good reason to be nervous.

"Finally!" she shouts, slamming me into the lockers one last time before storming down the hallway as people hurriedly shuffle out of the way for her.

I slide down the front of the lockers slowly until I make contact with the floor, wincing in pain. She may have shoved me a little harder than expected as my back feels like it is on fire. I sit there, wondering how everyone in this school ignores such acts of violence and bullying, sometimes even going as far as to laugh along with the bullies.

SPLASH! Laughter fills the hall as I sit there; dripping with grape slushy that has now completely foiled my clothes. I understand that my attire is not exactly fashionable, but it is the only thing I can afford, especially when Neanderthals such as David Karofsky, keep ruining them.

I stand up, wincing slightly at the pain in my back before smiling, I turn around and reopen my locker to grab my slushy kit and head off to the bathroom.

This is going to be a long day.

* * *

I felt like crying in relief when the bell went signalling the end of the day and I never thought I would be happier knowing that there was no glee today. Don't get me wrong, I love the club dearly, but I really needed to get home and relax.

As soon as I step through the threshold, I ran and threw myself on the couch in a very unladylike manner, but I could care less right now.

What is everyone's obsession with me? It seemed that the moment I entered McKinley high I was a target and I had done absolutely nothing wrong, I hadn't even spoken yet when I got my first slushy facial. I am constantly called derogatory names like man hands... My hands aren't manly are they? Do I even look like a man? I am 95 percent confident that there accusations are false so why worry?

My mind started to drift and it wasn't long before I had given in to the urge to sleep, not even removing my shoes.

BANG! BANG! BANG! "Hello? Is anyone in there?" I was woken abruptly by the constant banging on the front door and the raised voices. In my half asleep half awake state, I didn't even pause to consider who may be at the door and just slammed it open in annoyance.

"What?!" I asked rudely, but what can you expect when someone has just woken up like that? Of course I would be annoyed.

"Are you Rachel Barbara Berry?" the female asks authoritatively. I feel my sleepy haze start to lift as I process what is going on.

"Yes?" I reply uncertainly. Why do I have a bad feeling about this?

"Where are your parents Rachel" she asks surprisingly softly.

"Away on a business trip, who wants to know?" I demand, this can't be good.

"I am Kara Jenson with social services and I am afraid you are going to have to come with me Rachel" she replies calmly taking a step forward.

No, this cannot be happening, I have not spent the past 2 years working and trying to keep this a secret for some woman I don't even know to come in and ruin it all.

"No, you have it all wrong, my parents are coming back, you can't take me with you as that would be kidnapping. I would like to politely ask you to leave this property now" I try to sound firm in my words, but find myself disappointed when I waver slightly.

"I am really sorry Rachel, but we had been informed of your lack of parents by your neighbour and managed to contact your fathers to find out what is going on here" she says calmly still walking forward.

I take another step back, looking at her with wide eyes. "What did they say?" I ask weakly.

She smiles sadly "they said to take you away sweetie".

That was the moment in which I snapped, I spun around on my heel and tried to bolt out of the back door. I had only managed to take 3 strides before Kara managed to lock her arms around my waist, holding me firmly against her so I couldn't escape. "No! You can't take me! I have been fine on my own for years now, you can't do this!" I finally break down and start sobbing loudly as she holds me in her arms, letting me calm myself.

* * *

It has been a week since social services have taken me from my home and I still find myself in an orphanage with children from the ages of 2 to the ages of 13, I am the oldest here. Normally I would have been put in a foster home until they sorted something more permanent out, but it seems as if they are all too full at the moment or simply don't want to take me.

The children here seem to ignore my existence, only casting looks of curiosity but nothing more. I haven't exactly made any attempt at conversing with them either, only speaking when spoken to and following orders.

I don't plan on staying here, I will find some way out I just don't know how yet. Running away would seem pointless as I have nothing, my father's left me with nothing, I would have to start from scratch. However, there is only so much a 15 year old girl can do in a world like this without falling into the wrong crowd. So right now, the orphanage is my best bet.

"Rachel Berry?" calls a voice from the door; I look around to find Kara scanning the room for me. I silently stand up and approach her, not saying a word. She sighs softly before turning on her heel and performing a follow me motion with her finger.

I silently follow her through the doors that leave behind the other children and walk into her office, in her office is a woman I have never seen before but seems strangely familiar. When she looks up at me from her chair, she stands abruptly and stares at me wide eyed with tears in her eyes.

"I think that both of you should take a seat" Kara says calmly as she moves around her table to take a seat behind her desk.

I move to my seat and face forward, I can feel the woman next to me burning holes in the side of my head with the intensity of her stare, but I refuse to look.

"Rachel, I understand that this must be difficult for you and I know it must be hard knowing that your parents have left you" she begins softly.

"No, not really." I say absentmindedly, wondering why this woman is in here and what they want with me now, haven't they done enough already?

"What do you mean?" asks Kara confusedly.

"My fathers have been disappearing on business trips since I was 9 years old for months at a time. So when I was 13 and they never returned again, it was hardly surprising so I just looked after myself and kept it quiet. I accepted the fact that my parents didn't love me a long time ago Miss Jenson" I say evenly, ignoring the shocked and sympathetic looks from Kara.

What I couldn't really ignore though was the loud sob from next to me. I looked towards this woman shocked to find her crying her heart out, clutching her head in her hands. "I should have been there, I shouldn't have let this happen! How could I do this to you...?" She is making absolutely no sense. What has happened to me is not her fault so she shouldn't be blaming herself.

I don't really know what else to do so I stand and slowly move over to her. I perch on her armrest and start rubbing circles on her back in an effort to calm her down, telling her it isn't her fault and she shouldn't be blaming herself.

I can see Kara out of the corner of my eye watching us with a soft smile, but I don't have the time to contemplate that, my whole focus is on trying to calm this woman down, I don't know why I feel the need to, but I just do.

She eventually stops crying and looks up shocked to find me there before wrapping her arms around my waist and clinging on to me tightly. "I am so sorry" she says with so much sincerity as she looks up into my eyes. I find myself shocked by the truth in her words, but I still don't know why she is apologising.

"What are you apologising for?" you can hear the confusion in my voice.

She slowly and reluctantly releases her grip on me "you may not want to be this close to me when I tell you" she mumbles quietly.

I move back to my chair and look at her expectantly. She takes a deep breath before facing me again, fear in her eyes. "I'm Shelby Corcoran and I am your birth mother Rachel".

To say I was shocked would be the understatement of the century. That can't be true can it? It can't be, but we look so much alike. "Why are you here?" I ask, not maliciously but out of sheer curiosity.

She looks at me shocked then "I find out my daughter has been abandoned by the 2 men I trusted her life with and has been taken away by social services and you ask me why I am here?" she says disbelievingly.

I look at her hopelessly "Well, I mean, you didn't want me before right? So why now?" I can see her cringe at those words, but I just didn't know what to say.

"I think I should explain some things to you Rachel. I was 16 when I was pregnant with you Rach, your father had run away and left me when he found out I was pregnant with you and my parents were distraught. I wanted to keep you, I wanted to keep you so badly but I knew I couldn't. I had no support system and my parents were angry enough as it was that I didn't get an abortion, but I refused to deny you life. I met the Berry's who seemed so eager to adopt you, they were so nice to me and had lots of money to be able to give you everything you might ever need or want. They could give you everything I couldn't, so I agreed. The day you were born was both the happiest and worst day of my life, it was the day I first laid eyes on you and I fell in love with you instantly, but then they took you away, no matter how much I begged and pleaded they said I could never see you again. Well at least not until you were 18 and you actively sought me out... I am so sorry Rachel, I had no idea it would be like this for you" she finishes, sobbing by the end.

I sit there in complete shock. I had a mother who wanted me, who did everything she possibly could for me, who blames herself for everything bad in my life.

I look towards Kara who gives me and encouraging smile and move to kneel in front of this woman, I put my hands on her knees to try and get her attention. She looks up from the shield of her hands and I smile softly at her. "This was not your fault. You only did what you thought was best for me and I am sure anyone in your position would have done the same. You could not have known this would happen so please, stop blaming yourself."

She through her arms around me then, holding me close "How can you forgive me so easily" she whispers into my hair.

"There is nothing to forgive" I say quietly.

"Ahem, I am sorry to interrupt your moment, but we do have things to discuss" Kara decides to interject; Rachel pulls back and goes to take her seat again, looking at Kara expectantly.

"I am sure this is probably obvious by now Rachel, Shelby is going to adopt you back into her family if you are agreeable of course" she finishes with a smile.

What? She wants me back? This can't be true? I must be dreaming! I have just been sat here for 30 seconds not saying anything, just staring at Shelby with wide eyes.

Shelby looks as if she is about to panic as Rachel still hasn't answered the question. Maybe she doesn't want to move in with her mother after all. Feeling completely helpless she says "Rachel, please answer the question" in desperation.

That seems to snap me out of it "You want me?" I ask unsure.

"Of course! I thought that much was obvious by now Rachel, I have always wanted you! But, if you don't want to, I completely understand" Shelby trails off miserably.

"No! No, no, no, I do want to live with you, it's just a lot to process , I mean, I went from being abandoned to being wanted within 5 minutes, it's a lot to take it" I finish sheepishly.

"Great, I will just go and get the paperwork" Kara disappears to go and find it.

"So, where do you live?" I ask with a smile, loving the fact that I now have a parent.

"I just moved to Lima" Shelby replies with a smile in Rachel's direction, not believing she finally gets her daughter.

My smile wavers a little... Lima... Just my luck!

* * *

It will be my first day back to school in 2 weeks. It is amazing how much can happen in 2 weeks. I went from being abandoned by my fathers, to social services, to finding out I have a mother who wants me and then to actually being adopted by said person.

We have so much in common it is unreal; we both share a passion for the arts, singing, acting and dancing. We both love Broadway and she said she will do anything to help me achieve my dreams which I am more than grateful for.

I am still a little nervous about calling her mother; would she want me to call her that? Would she be freaked out by it? I know I want to call her mum; she certainly is more deserving of the title than my dad's ever were.

Shelby had, much to my displeasure, spent a fortune on a new wardrobe of clothes for me, she was horrified when she saw what I had been wearing, but understood when I explained why.

So here I am in my black denim shorts and a black tank top with my bag slung over my shoulder walking in through the school entrance. The moment people see me the gossip mill begins, spreading word about my sudden change in appearance. I do my best to ignore them and continue walking towards my locker.

"Hey Rachel" a voice asks me from behind.

I turn around to face him surprised "Hello Finn, how can I help you today?" I ask politely.

" You look good Rach, these clothes suit you" he says letting his eyes roll over my form, making me shift uncomfortably.

"Thank you for the compliment but that doesn't answer my question" I say confidently.

"Yeah, er, do you want to meet up after school, practice for glee or something, maybe get dinner?" he asks nervously while I internally groan.

"Aren't you going out with Quinn? Shouldn't you be asking her out for dinner? Also, I have not attended school for 2 weeks so I have no idea what is happening in glee at the moment" I say tiredly, can't he take the hint?

"Well yeah but, we would just be going as friends, so I don't see the problem" he shrugs, looking at me with those eyes that can only mean trouble. Surely he knows that whenever her talks to me, I get ill-treated by both Quinn and Santana.

"Hey Finn! Get your ass over here dude, we got practice!" yells Noah from down the hallway.

Finn seems stuck about whether to continue talking to me or to leave; thankfully he turns to follow Noah. Noah looks back at me and gives me the thumbs up while I send him my best grateful smile.

The day seems to progress with relatively no incidents. The whispering is still there but I haven't received any slushies yet or any confrontations with jocks or cheerleaders. Well, that is until Lunch break.

I had gotten out of class late, I had to stay behind to collect all the assignments I had missed these last 2 weeks as well as collect any information I may need to complete the tasks.

The hallways were relatively empty as I walked down them as most students are in the cafeteria. So imagine my surprise when I feel the front of my body slam into the lockers as someone pushes me against it, holding me there. I barely have time to groan in pain before they pull my head back, whispering in my ear "I told you to stay away from Finn Man hands" before letting me drop to the floor.

I turn around expecting to see Santana standing there, but find myself surprised when Quinn is there also, she usually leaves Santana to do all her dirty work. "I do believe that Finn approached me this morning and I did turn down his offer for dinner, so I am not in the wrong here ladies." I say as calmly as I can.

Quinn smiles evilly as she picks me back up, and slam me against the lockers again. "Santana, do it" she demands and I can feel a chill go down my spine.

Santana then gets this evil glint in her eye as she turns me around, slamming my front against the lockers again; I can hear her pulling something out before I turn completely pale as my blood runs cold to the sound of my hair being cut.

I scream loudly, thrashing against her hold on me, trying with everything I have to get her to stop cutting my hair, but it is too late, the damage is done.

"SANTANA YOU STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!" roars a voice from down the corridor, filled with so much anger and hate that even I feel scared and it's not directed at me.

She lets go of me then and I turn around to see Santana completely pale, gaping at whoever it is who spoke, Quinn looks very much the same.

I turn to see who could have caused such a reaction from the biggest bitches in school and find myself surprised to see Brittany there, shaking with rage.

"How DARE you do this to RACHEL! She has never done ANYTHING to you two. She doesn't even like Finn so STOP PICKING ON HER!" she says breathing heavily, never before have I seen Brittany so angry. "You have gone too far this time and I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU" she screams at the end.

Santana looks hurt, she has been the one to protect Brittany from the bullies in this school, and they had a very close friendship. I know for a fact that whenever Santana had done anything particularly mean to me, Brittany never found out about it, so this must be a huge shock. Santana then hardens and glares at Brittany "You think you can survive high school without me? Well Fuck you" she storms off, dragging Quinn with her.

I sit there unmoving, before I start crying. Brittany rushes over and gathers me in her arms, rocking me back and forth saying everything will be okay, but it won't. Nothing will be okay until someone changes this school, because I don't think I can put up with it anymore.

I stand up ignoring Brittany's pleas and grab my bag, leaving this school and going home, I have to come up with a plan to fix this, especially since I am sure Brittany will be on her own now.

* * *

Dear mother was working from home today so she was a bit shocked when I came home early, but almost had a full on mental break down when she saw my hair. I broke down in her arms then, crying my heart out for everything they have ever done to me while telling Shelby at the same time. I had never seen her so angry in the short time I had known her, she always seemed like such a softy that it is hard to imagine her angry, but boy she was.

I go upstairs and take a shower, when I am out and dry I stare at myself in the mirror. My hair looks horrible, some place are cut so short that the hair is only a few inches away from my scalp, while others are slightly longer, about 9 inches, a mess indeed. _Troll Treasure trail Man Hands The only man who would want you would be a gay one They shouldn't let boys in the changing rooms Is that your girlfriend? _ If they think I look like a man, then that is exactly what I will give them. Pulling out my own pair of scissors I hack the rest of the long hair away and start coming up with a plan.

The summer holidays are in a week's time and I managed to convince Shelby to let me have that time off. It is important that if I am going to go to school as a different character that they think Rachel Berry has moved away.

However, explaining to Shelby what I was planning on doing did not go down so well...

"You want to what?!" she demands.

"I know this is hard to understand but I have to do this. Going to school as a boy will not only help me create a new start for me, but it will improve my acting skills and help me prepare for Broadway, I can use this to try and bring down the schools hierarchical system and help put a stop to all the bullying. Please Mom, I need to do this" I say pleadingly, not realising my slip up.

"You called me Mom" she says in awe.

I blush embarrassed and look away "Sorry, I didn't mean to, I mean I did, but I didn't know if you would be comfortable with that or not..."

"No! I would love it if you called me Mom, I just didn't want to make you if you didn't want to"

"Oh, cool, so Mum what do you think?"

She sighs tiredly "I don't know Sweetie, not only would you have to be in character at school 100% of the time, which will be exhausting, but you also don't look like a boy, you have a very feminine figure darling" she tries to reason.

"I can wrap up my chest so no one will notice if that is the problem"

"Sweetie, even if you do that, what about your arms and legs. I know you exercise, but they are still to scrawny to be male..."

"That's fine, I have the entire summer holidays to beef up, I already have a membership pass to a gym and I will get to work on the training plan immediately"

"But what about if you get into a fight? Boys will not hesitate to punch you if they think you are a boy" she tries again.

"I have been taking self defence lessons since I was 9 years old, not having parents around, I felt like I needed to be able to protect myself. I will start taking the lessons again over the summer as well, that should help with the training programme I will be starting" I say determinedly.

'Sigh' "Nothing's going to stop you is it?"

"Nope" I say cheekily.

She grins back "Well, I have always wanted to try a project like this before when I was the head of the drama department in my early days, so I am kind of excited to see how this works. We will need to do more to hide your identity though. Cutting your hair short and wearing boy clothes will only get you so far."

I grin, thankful that my mum is going to help me. "OK"

"Also, you will need to start studying the male gender of your age group, how they walk, how they talk, how they stand, dress, flirt everything. Also, what kind of a guy are you going to be? Quiet and shy? Dorky? Confident?" wow, you can really hear her enthusiasm.

"Don't worry I know who to talk to about that, but not yet. I think it would be beneficial to have at least 1 person in school know anyway, and I know I can trust him." I say confidently.

"Good, that should help when trying to keep your secret, especially gym class, but I could have a word with the school to get you out of it... Now the final question, we can work out the finer details later... What are you going to call yourself?" she asks curiously.

I smirk "Rae Corcoran"

* * *

The past month and a half I have been vigorously training in both muscle toning and martial arts. I am happy to say that the training has definitely been paying off. My instructor has been more than shocked at my amount of energy and how I throw myself into everything I do, he can't believe what I have managed to achieve in such a short period of time. My muscles and legs are a lot more toned and show a strong definition of muscle as does my 6 pack.

I have also been sitting around at the mall, watching how a male interacts, how they talk, slouch, even were they look when talking, which is usually at someone's chest. It has helped to try and build my own character but I know something is missing, sure I could probably fool everyone, but it just doesn't feel right yet.

Mother had come up with a way to help hide my identity. She is really excited about what I am trying to do and has even bought me a new 'male' wardrobe. Full of ripped jeans, t-shirts, leather jackets and stuff like that. Hell she even bought me a special kind of chest wrap that makes it look like I have pecks without covering my toned stomach so I can wear tight t-shirts. Anyway, to cover my identity she took me to the hairdressers and got them to cut and style my hair to be sort of spiky with blond highlights. The finishing touch was the blue contacts as, apparently, I have memorable eyes.

So here I am now, walking to the one person who I will let in on my secret 1 week before school starts up again. I am in full attire, scuffed trainers, ripped jeans, a 'fuck you' t-shirt covered with a leather jacket, my blue contacts are in and my hair is spiked up. This will be the final test to see if anyone will recognise me.

Ding-Dong

"NOAH, ANSWER THE DOOR!" yells a voice

"MA! I AM BUSY!" that sounds like Noah.

"ANSWER IT RIGHT NOW OR SO HELP ME..."

"FINE I AM GOING!"

The front door bursts open, revealing an annoyed and confused Noah.

"Er, do I know you?" he asks unsure.

"Yup" I answer in my guy voice that took me ages to perfect with Mums help. It sounds a little husky, but definitely mal.

"Look man, I don't know what you are doing here, but your freaking me out" he says trying to sound intimidating.

I smirk then "The 'Puckinator' can be freaked out?" I ask raising an eyebrow.

"What? No! I am badass! Who are you and what are you doing here?" he says in annoyance before smirking "did I sleep with your girlfriend or something?"

I couldn't help it then, I laughed so hard I was nearly in tears while Noah looked as though he was getting more and more pissed. "I'm sorry" I gasp "but that was too funny!"

"What the hell man! Why do you sound like a chick all of a sudden?" now he was seriously freaking out. I decided just to push him a little further.

"Hello Noah, it is nice to see you again" I say politely, letting my Berry smile form on my face as I use my real voice.

"What the fuck! You ate Berry?!" I burst out laughing again because, seriously? Who would say that?

"No I am Berry" I finally answer as I take out my contacts looking up to his shocked face "and I need your help".

He let me in his house to explain everything, I had to pretend to be a guy though so his mum would let me stay, he has a no girls after 10 rule.

It took about 2 hours to explain everything, I could have probably got away without telling him anything about my dad's and mom, but I got the feeling that would come back to bite me in the ass (dear god, acting like a guy is making we think swear words!) so I told him. He was beyond pissed about that, but let me finish explaining everything, down to how I got were I am now and what my plan is.

"So let me get this straight, you want to start senior year as a guy called Rae Corcoran and fool everyone at school into thinking you are a dude, while trying to take down all the jocks and cheerleaders who rule the school?" he asks incredulously.

"That would be correct" I answer curtly.

"And you want my help?"

"Yes" I say confidently.

"What did your mom say about all this?"

"She was reluctant, but hell, now she is even helping me, the contacts were her idea" I say smiling thinking about my mother, she is so cool.

He looks shocked by that, oh well. "So you in?"

"Damn right I am Berry!" he says jumping to his feet holding up his fist for a fist pound.

"Good because while I need your help in keeping this secret, I also need help in how a guy interacts with girls" I say jumping up and punching his fist.

"Damn Berry! When did you get so strong" he says rubbing his fist.

"Since I have been training to beef up some to look more like a guy" I say simply.

"Wow, you really went all out!" he says in surprise, before smirking yet again "so you need help with the ladies" he says wiggling his eyebrows.

"Noah!"

* * *

_Was it any good? Should i continue?_

_Thank you for reading and please review!_


	2. First Day!

_Chapter 2 is a go! Thank you for your reviews! I am trying to keep my updates fairly lengthy for you as i know it can get annoying waiting for an update for it only to be 500 words long... Hope you like it!_

* * *

The drive to school was nerve racking to say the least. I had chosen a pair of black converse, torn blue jeans, an AC-DC t-shirt (What? Just because I am going to be on Broadway does not mean I do not appreciate all kinds of music) covered with my leather jacket. I obviously had my chest wrap on (so I could get away with my tight t-shirt), my contacts in and my hair semi spiked to keep my identity hidden. Even Noah did a double take when he came to pick me up for school when he saw me and he had seen me in my 'Rae' attire before. To be precise he said 'looks like I finally have some competition for the ladies'.

The past week I had been hanging out with Noah in between training as it is essential I keep my top form, sometimes Noah even came with me to the gym. It was funny seeing a 'football' player try and keep up with my pace. Mostly, he was teaching me how to act around woman, or more specifically, how he acts around woman. I wanted my character to be similar to Noah, but not as full on in the flirting department as he, something close to it though. It didn't take him long to find out I preferred woman to men which explains why I was so adamant about turning down Finn's advances. Apparently us 'hot Jews gots to stick together!'

"Hey dude, you got to stop shaking, you got this." Noah says encouragingly from his driver seat as we pull into McKinley high.

"I know I do Noah, but what if someone recognises me? What if I can't pull this off? What if even as a guy I am still the Lima Loser that everyone bullies?" I know I am rambling now, but I am so nervous about all of this.

"Whoa, slow down there tiger. No one will recognise you, shit, even I didn't recognise you when you showed up on my door step and that was when you hadn't finished your character yet. You have been practising the whole fucking summer and working out so I know for a fact you can pull this off. Plus, I got your back so no one will dare touch my fellow hot Jew! So stop freaking out and let's do this shit." Noah finishes encouragingly as he pulls into his parking space.

"As much as I dislike your use of language, I appreciate the sentiment. Thank you Noah, I feel a bit better now" I say sincerely.

"No worries babe!"

"Oh and Noah, don't forget to call me Rae in front of everyone" I say as a reminder, wouldn't want him to blow my cover before I have even started.

"You can count on me, I got this" he says hopping out of the car.

I take a deep breath trying to calm my nerves before opening my car door jumping out and kicking the door shut.

"Hey, don't hurt my baby!" Yells Noah as he watches me kick his door shut.

My whole posture has changed from the Rachel Berry everyone knows. I look a lot more laid back as I lazily shrug my shoulders at Noah in response. The usual Rachel Berry would apologise profusely, but Rae Corcoran just doesn't care. I sling my bag over my shoulder and casually make my way towards the school entrance.

"That still freaks me out" Noah mutters once he has caught up to me. I just look up at him and smirk as I walk in through the entrance.

I can feel people's eyes on me when I walk in, but it is different from before. There is nothing malicious about it, just looks of curiosity and some others of lust. I suppose walking into school with Noah on my side has also gained some attention, but I act as if I don't notice and keep going.

"Dude, you have only been here like 2 minutes and already the chicks are checking you out" Noah whispers in awe.

"Whatever mate, I just got game" I say smirking, wiggling my eyebrows. I have to admit, it is fun being Rae Corcoran, I can do pretty much whatever I feel like without feeling guilty about it because it is my 'character'.

"Shit, how do you even sound like that" he says, referring to my voice.

"I got skills" I say shrugging before stopping abruptly, looking at the scene in front of me. I feel Noah stop beside me as well.

In front of us is Brittany standing a little in front of the lockers, facing off with Karofsky. "Well now that we got rid of Treasure trail, it looks like we get to have fun with you" he spits out, holding a slushy cup in front of him. "What are you going to do now you don't have Satan to protect you?" he laughs.

What really took me by surprise was what Brittany said. "Her name is Rachel! She was here for years taking everything that all you people through at her" she says making eye contact with everyone in the room. "Not once did she retaliate or do ANYTHING to deserve it! You were all just Jealous that she was better than all of us. That she would leave Lima behind and make something of herself. So you made her life hell and now? She is GONE!" she says heatedly as some people turn away guiltily while others look shocked at the level of intellect that Brittany is showing.

I was stood there gaping like a fish. Other than Noah, Brittany was the only person whoever showed that she cared about me. Sometimes she would help me remove the slushy from my hair when she could get away from Santana, she was always friendly and she was always smiling, I didn't realise she cared this much about me. Noah puts his hand on my shoulder comfortingly, but I barely feel it as I stand, watching the scene.

Karofsky snaps out of his shock first before sneering at Brittany."You defend the troll even now bitch? She's not even fucking here, now without Santana on your side, you are nothing!" he says, preparing to throw the slushy at her.

Something inside me snaps then and I find myself running in front of Brittany, slamming her into the lockers as I do my best to shield her from the slushy that was thrown just as I got there. The majority of it lands on my back, only a few splashes land on Brittany. I look up to see her face as she stares down at me in shock "Rach?" she asks quietly.

Internally I am freaking out. She couldn't recognise me could she? Outwardly however, I merely smirk as I reach up and flick a bit of slushy off her cheek. She seems to shake herself out of whatever thought she was lost in while I step away and turn to face these... What's the word I am looking for? Assholes!

"Now let me guess, you are David Karofsky, McKinley High's shitty football player who torments the students here. Do you think it makes you a 'big man' throwing slushies at..." I turn to Brittany "hey babe I never caught your name" I say ignoring the gawking students.

"Brittany..."

"Thanks Brit" I wink turning back to Karofsky. "Throwing slushies at Brittany here hmm? Does that make you 'hard'?" I ask innocently.

He glares at me then, shaking with rage "Who the fuck are you to co..." he begins.

"Rae Corcoran at your service" I smile cheekily.

"Why you little..."

I cut him off again with a glare that sends shivers down his spine "Now why would you pick on Brittany?"

Once he composes himself again he smiles evilly "Because she is a fucking retard"

I tense when he calls her that. Nobody insults Brittany like that and I will certainly make him pay for it. "I'm sorry I don't think I quite caught that?" I say lowly. Once again ignoring how the other students are watching the scene in a tense silence.

"I said she is a fucking re..." I had heard enough.

Faster than most of the students could see I had launched my fist at his face, knocking him onto his back on the floor. I remove my leather jacket then and throw it to Noah who was the only student smirking at the scene.

My t-shirt was tight and showed my 6 pack as well as my fake pecks, everyone could see the muscles that lined my arms that were not covered by the shirt and I heard one girl whisper 'hot'. Who it was however, I will never know.

Karofsky stands up, clutching his now broken nose, tears in his eyes "What's the matter big man? Can't take a punch? I thought you were a guy? Not a pussy." I say tauntingly.

"You fucking midget" he yells nasally as he charges, I quickly make sure Brittany has moved out of the way before turning back to be tackled into the row of lockers behind me. The minor pain I feel in my back is nothing compared to the anger I feel to what he was doing to Brittany. I bring my knee up fast, connecting with his face which was the perfect height from where he tackled me from my waist. When he stumbles backwards, I spin around, doing a round house kick, knocking a few teeth out as he crashed to the ground, unconscious.

"This midget just handed you your ass" I say to his still form.

Noah laughs, slinging his arm around my shoulders, with my slushied jacket slung over his own shoulder, held by his index finger. "Dude that was awesome" he says, bringing life to the previously stunned students, who immediately start the gossip mill.

"Whatever man, he slushied my jacket, what did he fucking expect!" I say chuckling along. I turn around, scanning the students for Brittany. When I find her, I walk over and smile "You alright Brit?"

She looks at me like I am a difficult puzzle and doesn't say anything for about 30 seconds. "Yes and thank you for that... Rae, but you shouldn't use violence" she reprimands.

I shrug "Yeah well he had it coming" I move my hand behind my back.

She snaps her hand out and grabs mine, looking at it intently "You hurt yourself" she states, looking at me with sad eyes. I pull my hand back away from her, feeling a little awkward.

I scratch the back of my neck and shift from one foot to the other "Yeah well, that tends to happen when you punch someone as hard headed as him in the face" I say jokingly.

She nods "Yes he does seem to have a hard head" she takes what I said literally, I kind of expected that though.

I smile indulgently, I always did love how innocent she could be, "Do you need some help getting some of that slushy out" I ask, I may have shielded her from most of it, but not all.

She looks at me, amusement in her eyes "are you going to go into the girl's bathroom with me?"

"I was thinking of taking you to the boy's one, but whatever works for you" I smirk, ignoring Noah's chuckle from behind me as I am sure he has made that comment dirty.

"WHAT HAPPENED OUT HERE!" Coach Sylvester shouts down the hallway, looking at an out cold Karofsky in disgust.

Before anyone could start pointing the blame Noah answered "He fell"

I tried to continue "Into the lockers"

"With his face"

"Repeatedly"

Sue Sylvester looks between the 2 of us with a levelled glare, but we both stand strong. "I don't care how he got there, just clean this mess UP!" she demands, stomping her way through the parting crowds.

Noah and I both look at each other before laughing. I of course had altered my laugh to sound more masculine, so it was all good.

Just then the Bell rings, I turn to Brittany again "So you need any help?"

She bounces excitedly on the spot for a moment before looking a bit down "No its alright, you need to clean yourself up as well as get to class..."

Me? Oh right, most of the slushy landed on my jacket, which will rinse off fairly easily, but I did get some of it in my hair. It really would be bad if I was very late to first class.

"Oh, alright then Brit, guess I'll see you at lunch then?" I ask hopefully.

With just those words, Brittany is suddenly buzzing on the spot as she hugs me, squealing excitedly "Yes, yes, yes", I can't help but laugh at her enthusiasm.

Once I have washed up, which involved soaking my hair under the tap, I didn't have time to dry it, and so I just left it dripping, Noah nudges me to get my attention. "So... You totally have the hot's for Brittany!" he squeals.

"What?! No I don't! She's just... She's just... Anyway what was up with that squeal? That was so gay!" I say trying to change the subject.

"No I didn't! And don't try and change the subject, you like her!" he looks at me in the eyes then, but I just look away.

"No I don't..." even I am not convinced by that.

"Fine, what is your type of girl and don't say you don't have a type, because everyone does"

"Ok" I say, not really knowing what he is getting at "Erm, tall, blonde, athletic figure, Funny, cute, adorable, innocent, energetic..." I start disappearing into my own happy land as I describe my kind of girl. The more I babble, the larger Noah's smile gets, when I finally stop and look towards Noah, he is sporting the biggest smirk I have ever seen on him.

"See! You just described Brittany down to a T. You cannot deny that you fucking like her, it is so obvious!" he says happily, looking accomplished.

I sigh in defeat, "Fine, I will admit I like her, when you admit that you 'totally' just had a fan girl moment" I say with an evil smirk.

He growls at me then and stomps his way into the classroom without answering, I laughingly follow. The whole classroom turns silent when I walk in, and Rachel Berry would probably be freaking out, but Rae, is completely cool with it.

The teacher looks up at me then and frowns. "What's up teach?" I ask casually.

"You may call me Mr Schuester or Mr Schue for short. I would like to know why you are late for My Spanish class and why you appear to be wet." He asks, ignoring Noah's lateness, probably because he is used to it.

"Well teach, there was a bit of a slushy incident before the bell rang and I had to try and clean up a bit, which is why I am late" I say skipping the details.

He nods understandingly "Well do you think you could dry up a bit, you are dripping everywhere" he gestures the puddle I am now stood in.

I shrug and start shaking my hair like a dog does when they dry off, I use my hands as well to try my best to get as much out as possible, getting the people in the front row a little wet in the process. The girlish squeals are indication of that. The class laughs a bit at the display. "Is that good enough Teach?" I ask innocently while he looks bemused.

"It's Mr Schue and while that is not what I had in mind, it is a little too late now. Would you mind introducing yourself to the rest of the class?"

I shrug "Sure" and turn to look at the class of familiar faces, spotting Santana and Quinn sat next to each other by the window. "Hey, the name is Rae Corcoran and I am sure it will be fun getting to know some of you" I say giving some of the girls my best flirtatious smile running my hand through my messy highlights as I wink.

It seems that even with messy wet hair I am still 'so hot'... I hear that a lot recently. I move to the back of the class and sit next to Noah who smirks at me whispering "Nicely done".

Spanish was boring as were my next classes that followed, Noah was in every one of my classes thanks to my mum's help so he can help with my secret, so we had to entertain ourselves with jokes and mocking the teachers. I never knew how fun it could be to muck about before; I have really been missing out!

Sadly, I didn't have Brittany in any of my classes so far and kicked Noah in the shin every time he smirked catching me looking for her. I can't help it! I have missed seeing her around over the summer holiday's and being so close to her now and not being able to see her is just depressing. Gah, I sound like some love sick puppy.

"Thinking about Brittany?" Noah asks teasingly from the seat next to me.

"Dude! How did you know?" I asked shocked that he knew that when I hadn't even said anything.

"You have the 'I am thinking about Brittany' expression on your face" he responds happily.

"You have only known I like her today and you already know what that look is?" I say slightly stunned.

"Well, in fairness you had that expression sometimes last week; I just didn't know who it was about. Besides its cool you know..." he says smiling sheepishly.

"What do you mean 'it's cool'" I say confused.

"You know, that you like someone like that" he shrugs.

"Awww, the Puckasaurus has gone soft!" I mock.

"Hey, that is not true! No chick can resist the Puckster!" he shouts indignantly, drawing the attention of the rest of our English class.

"Is there something you would like to share with the rest of the class Puckerman" our teacher asks while the rest of the class chuckles.

"er no sir"

"Then may I continue?"

"Yes sir"

I couldn't help but chuckle at the predicament Noah was in.

"Mr Corcoran what seems to be your problem?" he picks on me now as Noah silently chuckles.

I stop chuckling and compose myself. Time to have a little fun, that is how I created my character to be after all. "That is the question. Why don't we all ask ourselves what our problems are? Why don't we all look deep within ourselves and find them? I am sure that we all have our problems sir. Take you for example, your lack of hygiene and dental care does not only pose a problem for yourself, but for us as well who have to endure it. However, finding the problem is the first part of the equation, what the real question should be is what we are going to do about it. So sir, I ask you, what are you going to do about it?" I ask as the shock wears off the students who now find themselves silently laughing.

The teacher seems to be left opening and closing his mouth, lost for words. It takes everything in me to appear serious in my question and not laugh in his face. Thankfully the bell rings, signalling the beginning of lunch.

I try and sneak out of the classroom with everyone else when "MR CORCORAN! A word please" I cringe as the words ring out and turn back, trudging towards the teacher as Noah pats my shoulder in commiseration.

Luckily, I got away with a warning as it was my first day. I had to pull out the fake tears and prattle some lies about just wanting to fit in. He ate it all up and let me off, but still managed to make me 10 minutes late for lunch.

I step out of my classroom and find myself pleasantly surprised to find Noah waiting there for me. "Hey Puckerman, what are you doing out here?" my character never addresses him by his first name, that is strictly Rachel Berry only as Noah says.

He grins "I can't exactly go to lunch without my partner in crime now can I?"

"Guess not"

We casually walk down the halls, not feeling the need to hurry until we reach the cafeteria and we both stride in. We receive various looks from different people. Looks of Lust from some of the girls, Amusement from some of the male students, and glares from the football team as well as Quinn and Santana. Why those 2 are glaring at me I don't even know! We haven't even spoken yet.

"RAE!" yells a voice I adore and scan the room to find it, finding Brittany sitting on her own at the end of the glee table, she is still in her cheerio uniform so I don't understand why she doesn't sit with them. Is this because of Quinn and Santana?

I smile at her and make my way over, I can feel Noah following and turn around "Look man, you don't have to come with, you can go to the jocks if you like, this could ruin your rep"

"No way dude, I got your back, I should of had it before, well your stuck with me now" he says confidently.

I smile and shrug before making my way over to Brittany. "Is this seat taken?" I gesture to the seat in between her and Artie while Noah goes around sitting opposite.

"Nope" she says popping the P looking completely adorable.

I sit down next to her, settling down for what should be an interesting lunch.

* * *

_Well, how was it? Please review and tell me what you think. If you have any idea's feel free to share!_

_Thanks for reading and reviewing! You are all awesome! xx_


	3. Glee

_Hi everyone! Chapter number 3 has been completed. I am actually getting my exam results tomorrow and needed to do something to take away the nervousness lol. Hope you like!_

* * *

Chapter 3

The moment I sat down next to Brittany, the 2 gossip queens had already targeted me in their sights, leaving me with no escape route.

"Where did you move from?"

"Are you single?"

"Did you really beat up Karofsky?"

"How are you and Noah friends?"

"Who is your type?"

That last question caused my cheeks to flush a little, remembering a similar conversation I had with Noah earlier today. I can't help but feel a little overwhelmed at the number of Questions Kurt and Mercedes are firing at me in quick succession. I only wanted to hang out with Brit (internal pouty face).

"Hey" I say trying to stop their constant talking, but with little success.

I try again "HEY" still nothing.

Sigh, guess there's only one thing for it. "OI, shut your traps!" I snap, successfully stopping their chatter as their eyes widen in alarm, it was beginning to give me a headache. "Ah, that's better" I smile as Noah chuckles to himself. "So Brit, how has your day been?" I ask, ignoring the others.

Brittany beams at me and starts to describe her day "It was great! Well, morning practice with the cheerio's was a bit of a struggle as people kept falling on me, but it was still fun! In English we were studying some guy called Shakespeare? Anyway he's like really old, but a total Dolphin, that's why I like him. Maths was confusing; did you know that you can't add 1 apple and 2 bananas? What's wrong with having 3 banapples?" the confused frown on her face was so adorable I had to stop myself from kissing her forehead.

I laughed lightly at typical Brittany behaviour, I could never get tired of that, it was so entertaining, cute, sweet, fascinating... Ok, getting off track slightly, but you get my point. "Sounds great Brit" I say with a smile reserved only for Brittany.

"Hold up, what's a dolphin got to do with Shakespeare?" Noah asks with a frown.

Brittany smile happily as she explains "Because he is gay, like a dolphin!"

"That's just stupid" Artie mumbles under his breath so no one else but I could hear it, I kick him in the shin under the table and then feel like a complete idiot for forgetting hes disabled, i can feel his stare but i don't turn to him, nor do i let it show on my face.

"Oh" Noah frowns again in deep thought "Then what am I?"

I beat Brittany to the answer before I could stop myself "You're a shark dude"

"I'm a shark? That's awesome!" Noah says with a huge smug smile.

"You know about gay Dolphins and straight sharks?" Brittany asks in awe.

I shrug, trying to remain nonchalant about it even though it was Brittany who told me "Of course, who doesn't know about that? It's practically written in the dictionary"

Brittany nods in agreement "I know right"

I remembered a part of the day that Brittany had described which caused a frown on my face "Hey Brit, what exactly happened in cheerio practice this morning?" I ask carefully.

She looks at me slightly puzzled "Oh. Nothing really, just that whenever we tried to do the routine, people would knock me over or stand on my toes, coach got really mad!" she says shuddering slightly at that last part.

I on the other hand am furious; Brittany had just confirmed my original concerns. I knew that Santana and Quinn would turn against her, but I didn't think they would turn the entire cheer squad against her; it looks like they have even got some of the jocks on their side as well. I snap my head around to look directly at the cheerio table to see them all laughing about what happened to some kid, with a glare firmly in place. I feel a soft hand rest on my arm and turn to face Brittany's concerned eyes, she says quietly to me "Please don't do anything Rae, I don't want you to get hurt"

I stare at her in disbelief "You new?" I ask in shock, I didn't think that Brittany was aware that it was intentional, why did she pretend it was all accidental.

She looks at me sadly, "I'm not as stupid as people think, I just choose to not notice, it helps..." she trails off sadly.

Seeing the upset look on Brittany's face immediately drained me of any anger I had and left only concern for this beautiful creature. I reach my hand up to gently touch her cheek give her a tender look "You are so smart Brit, never did I think you were stupid, but I won't let people hurt you" I say for her ears only.

"How can you say that? You have only known me for a day" she says confused but slightly dazed.

I know I have to pull from my character now to keep my cover, I have already shown too much of my true self and it's only the first day! It's just hard to hide myself from Brittany. So I give her my cheeky smile "because I like you and you're hot!" pulling back my hand and giving her a wink.

She starts laughing with me then as we turn back to the table of stunned teenagers who had witnessed, but not heard, what had just happened.

Feeling the glare on the back of my head, I turn to spot Santana glaring at me with such an intensity, that if I were anyone else, they'd probably turn into a sobbing mess, but as I am not, I gave her an evil grin and winked, she looked ready to kill.

Let the games begin!

* * *

"Hold up, you're in Glee?" I asked shocked. The bell had just gone and I had planned on walking Brittany out, apparently, she has a glee meeting.

She looked excited when I mentioned the club "YES! I joined at the end of last year with Quinn and Santana who only joined because of Finn. It's a lot of fun!" she says happily.

I can only nod, a little shocked that not only Brittany had joined, but Quinn and Santana as well. "You should join as well Rae Rae!" Brittany exclaimed, absolutely buzzing.

"What?! No I couldn't possibly do that, I can't even sing!" I said panicked. I can't join Glee club, I don't even know if I can sing in character, my real voice might come through.

Brittany pouted then and gave me the puppy dog eyes, this is becoming dangerous. "Please Rae, It's really fun and I don't have anyone to sit next to..." her eyes started to fill with tears. God damn it, she knows exactly what she is doing, the sneaky little...

"I can't Brit" I try and convince her, I really can't go, it would be to risky.

"Please"

"But"

"Pretty please"

"I..."

"Pretty please with a cherry on top?"

"I'll make you a deal, I will come and SIT in on this meeting of yours today, ok?" I ask, caving slightly.

She pouts slightly and then smiles and hugs me happily "Come on!" she says as she starts to drag me along.

"Hold on Brit, I just need to make a call" I whip out my cell phone and scroll down to Noah's number.

"Was sup my hot Jew?"

"Get your ass to the music room, now!" I demand, no way in hell am I going there without backup.

"oh you didn't..."

"No I didn't, but I agreed to sit in on the meeting" I say tiredly.

"Let me guess... Brittany?" I can hear the annoying grin he is wearing through the phone.

I release a groan of annoyance "Just be there alright?"

"Of course babe, I got your back!" he says before hanging up.

"Alright Britt, let's go" I say, resigning to my fate.

* * *

I don't know how exactly, but we managed to arrive to Glee about 5 minutes late... It is not like we walked there the long way either, I guess we just walked very slowly; I tend to forget my surroundings when talking to Brittany. She's just so... Intoxicating.

We both came to a stop outside the music room when we heard raised voices and some sort of commotion. Both Brittany and I turned to each other confused before turning back to the door and concentrating on what is begin said.

'This club is such a joke! How can we possible win sectionals like this? Nobody is even trying!' shouts an exasperated Tina. Wow, not even a stutter, impressive.

'Of course we are trying Tina! We just can't get organised' I think that was Kurt?

'Yeah girl, after a few practices, it'll work out' that one was Mercedes.

'Why did I join this club again?' asked the annoying Finn.

'To get into Berry's pants dude' was Artie's reply.

'Oh... Then why am I still here?' god he was so annoying.

'No! You sit down! You all need to here this. We need Rachel...' Seriously, why isn't she stuttering?

'That Diva? No way hunny, we never needed that girl, she was so...'

'Controlling'

'Bossy'

'Annoying'

'Thinks she's better than everyone else'

'Stole all the leads'

Ouch! Don't hold back, tell us what you really think. I know they didn't like me, but I didn't think I was that bad was I?

'Shut up and let me finish! None of you think that! You all know she was the glue that kept this club together. She didn't steal the leads, she was given them because of her talent and you know it. She was ambitious and pushed us to be the best we could be and you all took her for granted.' Tin seethed.

I love you Tina! Well not like I lo... Like Brittany, but there are definitely some positive feelings there!

...

'She's right' huh... Kurt?

'I was just jealous' Mercedes too?

'You can't seriously believe that crap? We all hate her and I am glad she is gone' I hardly even spoke to Artie, didn't know he hated me that much...

'No, that's just you, we need our Diva back. As much as it pains me to admit it, I miss her' Aww Kurt.

'Well we can't, you all came to your senses to late and she is not here anymore'

"Move out of my way midget, Blondie" growls Santana as she barges between Brittany and I, trailed by Quinn, through the door into the music room leaving both of us a little stunned.

"Of course your highness, after you your highness, whatever you say..." I mutter to myself causing Brittany to giggle into her hand, so cute!

I smile brightly at her, leaving her a little dazed and move my hands in a grand gesture while bowing my head. "Ladies first" I say with a cheeky wink.

She laughs lightly "Such a gentleman" she says as she proceeds into the classroom.

I follow after her with a pleased smile. Most of the chatter stops when I enter the classroom. Most being everyone but Santana and Quinn who choose to ignore my existence, I still don't get why they both hate this version of me, when we have yet to talk. Ok, I get why Santana has a grudge, obviously it is to do with Brittany, but not Quinn.

"Err Hey?" that was my attempt to stop the staring, which seems to do the trick.

"Are you going to talk to us this time?" Was Kurt's response, guess he's still a little sore about lunch.

I smirk "Depends... Are you planning to interrogate me this time as well?" I lift a challenging eyebrow.

"Touché"

I am startled when I feel a hand place itself on my shoulder and react on instinct. I bring my foot around and swipe it under the intruder, taking their legs out from beneath them, causing them to crash to the ground as I twist around to face my victim. My eyes widen in surprise when they meet the eyes of Noah who is currently sitting up while rubbing the back of his head.

"Damn it Rae! You drag me a long to this shitty place then nock me on my ass? Not cool dude" he groans.

"Shit, sorry man, you really shouldn't sneak up on me like that" I hold out my hand for him to grab, pulling him up onto his feet with ease.

"You could have said something before!" he says with annoyance, but I can see the amusement in his eyes showing he isn't truly annoyed.

I just shrug and turn to the rest of the class, noticing the wide eyes and shacked expressions. Noah chuckles while slinging his arm around my shoulders, using his other hand to mess up my hair to. "Dude, you just can't stop shocking people!"

"Hey! Get off me you overgrown Baboon" I throw his hand away from my head and look up at him irritated.

"I am not a Baboon! I am the Puckinator!" he grumbles like a petulant child.

"Whatever you say Puck" I smirk and turn to Brittany who has not stopped smiling "So where do we sit?"

She giggle grabbing my hand and pulling me to the back of the classroom, on the opposite side to Quinn and Santana.

"Hey, I don't actually look like a Baboon right?" Noah follows, sounding a little fearful.

"Of course not dude" I say sitting next to Brittany while Noah sits on my other side, breathing a sigh of relief. "You look like a Racoon"

His indignant gasp was enough to send me into a fit of giggles.

"I thought he looked like a zebra because of his Mohawk" Brittany added which restarted my laughter and caused Noah to frown.

"Hey guys, sorry I am late" Bursts Mr Schue as he moves quickly to his front desk, dropping all of his paper work and books onto it in his hurry, not even turning to look at the class. "So I thought for today assignment..." he trails off, finally looking up. "Oh new members? You will have to audition, but I am sure you will do great!" he says excitedly.

"No, no, no, no, we aren't here to join teach, we just wanted to watch" I say hurriedly, not wanting to get dragged in, it really is too dangerous for me. Noah nods in agreement next to me.

"Oh..." was Mr Schue's dejected reply.

"It probably a good thing he doesn't try out, saves my ears the pain of having to listen to him" Quinn bites out.

"Totally! Him and Puck? They couldn't sing even if their lives depended on it" Santana agrees sending an evil smirk in my direction.

I feel my anger rise in me. They haven't even heard this version of me sing and they are already being bitches? I so badly want to wipe those smirks off their faces right now. Do you think Mr Schue would mind if I punched them?

"We'll audition" Noah says confidently and it takes me a second to realise that he said we.

"What?!" I stand up looking down at Noah. He knows I can't do that.

He stand up and gives me a serious look before whispering in my ear "Don't let them walk all over you Rach" for only me to hear.

"Come on Rae, please try out! I don't like being in this club on my own" I look down into Brittany's pleading eyes and know instantly that my mind has been made up for me. We both know that she isn't in here on her own, but that she feels alone in this club which is something I cannot allow.

"Fine, we don't have enough time to do a duet, so we will have to do separate songs alright?" I ask, getting straight down to business, hoping more than anything I can pull this off.

"Alright"

"You go first and I'll play guitar for you, what song do you want to do?"

He smirks then "Bad girlfriend by theory of a dead man." I laugh, typical Noah.

"Hey teach, Noah's going first and I'll play the guitar, is that alright with you?" I ask, knowing it will be.

"Yes of course" he says excitedly.

Noah and I take up our positions and once we have everyone's attention I smirk and start playing the first chords.

_My girlfriend's a dick magnet, my girlfriend's gotta have it_

_She's hot, can't stop, up on stage, doing shots _

_Tip the man, he'll ring the bell, get her drunk, she'll scream like hell _

_Dirty girl, getting down, dance with guys from outta town _

_Grab her ass, acting tough, mess with her, she'll fuck you up _

_No on really knows if she's drunk or if she's stoned _

_But she's coming back to my place tonight _

I laugh at the shocked faces around the room while playing the guitar. The song is a bit... Well, if it was a few months ago, I probably would have gone with the word vulgar, but now, I find it a lot more amusing than anything else.

_She likes to shake her ass, she grinds it to the beat _

_She likes to pull my hair when I make her grind her teeth _

_I like to strip her down, she's naughty to the end _

_You know what she is, no doubt about it _

_She's a bad, bad girlfriend _

Brittany stands up during this verse and moves to the front, dancing, grinding and pulling my hair. It takes everything in me to not miss a chord and maintain my character, but she is so distracting! All I can do is smirk and go along with it while Noah continues to sing.

_Red thong, party's on, love this song, sing along _

_Come together, leave alone, see you later back at home _

_No one really knows if she's drunk or is she's stoned _

_But she's coming back to my place tonight _

_I say no one really knows just how far she's going to go _

_But I'm gonna find out later tonight _

Brittany pulls away and does a different routine then, but no less sexy, god I hope I am not drooling!

_She likes to shake her ass, she grinds it to the beat _

_She likes to pull my hair when I make her grind her teeth _

_I like to strip her down, she's naughty to the end _

_You know what she is, no doubt about it _

_She's a bad, bad girlfriend _

Then she's back to the grinding... This girl is driving me insane! Who knew auditioning would be this... this sexually frustrating!

_Doesn't take her long to make things right _

_But does it make her wrong to have the time of her life _

_The time of her life? _

_My girlfriend's a dick magnet, my girlfriend's gotta have it _

_She's a gold digger, now you figure out it's over, pull the trigger _

_Future's finished, there it went, savings gone, the money spent_

_Look around and all I see is no good, bad and ugly _

_Man, she's hot and fixed to be the future ex-Miss Connelly _

_She likes to shake her ass, she grinds it to the beat _

_She likes to pull my hair when I make her grind her teeth _

_I like to strip her down, she's naughty to the end _

_You know what she is, no doubt about it _

_She's a bad, bad girlfriend, she's a bad, bad girlfriend _

_She's a bad, bad girlfriend_

The song ends and everyone jumps to their feet to applaud us, minus Quinn, Santana and Artie (He is kind of in a wheelchair, so no jumping for him). I am just glad I get a break from Sexy Brittany. Wait that sounded so wrong! Who would want a break from Brittany? I look towards her and she sends me a wink. If I was really a guy right now, I would be in some serious trouble in hiding my arousal...

"So what song you doing Rae?" Noah asks curiously.

Oh yeah, shit what am I going to sing? I didn't even think about that part yet, what happened to the Rachel Berry that was prepared for everything all the time? Oh, that's right, she turned into Rae Corcoran. Hmmmmmmm...

So it has to be fairly light on my vocal chords so I can try and keep in character and not go into Rachel Berry mode. It has to be a song that nobody would suspect it to be me, so musicals are out of the question... Aha, perfect.

"Teenage dirt bag baby" I finally said with a grin, passing Noah the guitar.

"Sweet!" he says getting into position while I take my place in front of the mike.

I look around and notice everyone has retaken their seats, Brittany included who looks to be buzzing with anticipation.

As Noah starts to strum I can see Brittany's face morph into a giant grin causing butterflies in my stomach.

Here's my first line, the moment of truth, please Lord, let this work...

_Her name is Noel  
I have a dream about her  
She rings my bell  
I got gym class in half an hour  
Oh how she rocks  
In Keds and tube socks  
But she doesn't know who I am  
And she doesn't give a damn about me_

I have had my eyes tightly shut the whole time, but as far as I can tell, I don't sound too bad for a guy. I open my eyes to blast out the chorus and finally see the expressions on their faces.

_Cause I'm just a teenage dirtbag baby  
Yeah I'm just a teenage dirtbag baby  
Listen to Iron Maiden baby with me_

Everyone looks pretty shocked and I can only hope that it isn't because they suspect something is up, I turn to look at Noah for some sort of clue, but he looks just as surprised. I can't let my character slip, so I put a smirk on my face and start walking around slowly as I sing the next verse.

_Her boyfriend's a dick  
And he brings a gun to school  
And he'd sI'mply kick  
My ass if he knew the truth  
He lives on my block  
And he drives an Iroc  
But he doesn't know who I am  
And he doesn't give a damn about me_

Seeing the smiles on everyone's faces and the head bobbing coming from the students, I get the confidence to let loose into the chorus again as I jump up and down with my hand in the air, getting everyone to join me.

_Cause I'm just a teenage dirtbag baby  
Yeah I'm just a teenage dirtbag baby  
Listen to Iron Maiden baby with me_

I don't know what came over me, but I jumped high up into the air and twisted my body to do a backwards flip and landed in a one handed handstand. My shirt had ridden up slightly and revealed my 6 pack to the class, thankfully not revealing anything else. I then sprung off of that hand and back to my feet to continue the song. Not realising I had stunned the club.

_Yeeah dirtbag, no she doesn't know what she's missin  
Yeeah dirtbag, no she doesn't know what she's missin_

Brittany moves to the front to dance with me again and I find myself singing the next verse to her, I grab her hand and spin her to me so her back is against my front singing some lines into her ear before spinning her away from me again and looking into her eyes.

_Man I feel like mold  
It's prom night and I am lonely  
Low and behold  
She's walking over to me  
This must be fake  
My lip starts to shake  
How does she know who I am  
And why does she give a damn about_

The whole room is alive with everyone dancing around each other, enjoying the music, a part from Quinn and Santana who have been glaring at me for the entire song. It is easy to ignore them when Brittany is dancing with you. She grabs my microphone then and sings the next verse to me, her eyes holding a secret that I can't decipher.

_I've got two tickets to Iron Maiden baby  
Come with me Friday, don't say maybe  
I'm just a teenage dirtbag baby like you_

We both end up singing the final few lines of the song, not retracting our gazes from each other, not even knowing what it is we are singing, lost to the world.

_Yeeah dirtbag, no she doesn't know what she's missin  
Yeeah dirtbag, no she doesn't know what she's missin_

The song finally comes to an end with everyone shouting and applauding our performance which only increases when Mr Schue announces that we are definitely in the club.

However, no matter how much noise was made, it did nothing to drown out Brittany's next words that she whispered into my ear...

'I missed you Rachel'

* * *

_Please tell me what you think about this chapter, i am not to sure whether i am happy with this chapter or not, but i tried so..._

_Anyway, i hope you enjoyed it and thank you for reading!_

_xx_


	4. Breadstix

_Wow, it has really been ages since i last updated... I am so sorry, but i have been incredibly busy and i couldn't think about what to right, everytime i tried, it was just a blank you know? I hope the wait was worth it, but to be honest, i don't really know how i feel about this chapter..._

* * *

To say I was shocked would be the biggest understatement of the century. I mean... How the hell did she know? Am I being too obvious? I always had confidence in my acting abilities but I think that now needs to be re-evaluated.

I didn't bother denying her words; they were said with so much conviction that I knew I was well and truly busted! So, I chose not to say anything for the rest of glee club, doing my best to avoid Brittany until I come up with some sort of plan, much to her dislike.

Noah chose not to comment, but did send me many curious looks and raised eyebrows. Oh yes, I am definitely going to get cornered later, typical.

I am so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice that the bell had gone signalling the end of the day until only Noah, Brittany, Quinn and Santana are left. I make a dash for the door hoping to avoid confrontations of any sort only to be blocked by the 2 HBIC's... I really hate my luck sometimes.

"What now?" I ask in exasperation. I just want to go home and crawl into my nice warm bed, ignoring the events that had transpired, but that's just too much to ask.

"You need to stay the fuck away from glee" Santana growls out threateningly. Quinn doesn't say anything, but looks equally peeved.

I raise a single eyebrow, imitating Quinn to a T. "Oh? For starters I don't even know you and dude, why would I listen to anything you've got to say?" Funny, I always got the feeling she hated the Glee club...

Dear god, I feel like I am talking to a couple of wild animals the way they start growling and looking like they are about to pounce. "Listen here you fucking midget, we rule this school and anything we say goes or else. Get it?" Is Quinn ever going to speak in this conversation? Or is Santana the bigger bitch these days.

"Or else what?" I challenge. I have a fairly good idea about what could happen, but you never know...

Santana grins evilly while I can't really figure out Quinn's expression... Is it apprehension? Surely not! "Slushies, beatings, you name it, we got it."

I snort at that. "Wow, how original of you. I would never have guessed!" I say sarcastically, suddenly aware of a closing presence behind me.

"You could always join us." Well Quinn finally speaks, but that is the last thing I expected her to say, and by the looks of Santana, she shares that sentiment.

"Huh?" I ask dumbly before sobering up. "Alright, lets end this conversation right here because quite frankly, I fucking hate this place. You 2 need to grow the fuck up and get your heads out of your asses and you" I turn to the shocked looking Santana "Need to lose the closet and grow some fucking balls" and with that, I side step them and walk into the now empty hallway.

The footsteps that hurriedly follow have me turning on my heel to see who it is, to be met by a grinning Noah and Brittany. "Fucking A Ber... Rae, that was Awesome" he finishes uneasily, realising his slip up.

'Sigh' "Don't worry yourself Noah, Brittany has already discovered my secret" I respond using my real voice. No point in hiding.

"Oh fuck Rach, how?" he says looking between Brittany and I.

I shrug my shoulders and look to Brittany who now has an adorable little frown on her face. "How did you know that Rae Corcoran was indeed myself Britt?" I am actually really curious as to what gave it away.

She smiles somewhat nervously now which is still so cute! "I have sort of noticed all day, but only discovered it in glee. When you helped me this morning it reminded me of that day you stuck up for me that first day in dance class." I blush a little at that. "Then at lunch you already knew about sharks and dolphins, but I still didn't quite believe it until glee." She pauses here and I can't help but feel a little nervous about what she may say. "You just had that spark that you always get when you play music and then when you started singing and you looked at me... It was the same way you have always looked at me, the way only you look at me..." She holds my gaze when she says that, she has a soft smile on her face with a look that I can only describe as adoration.

"How do I look at you?" I ask softly, fearing how much she might know...

Her eyes look a little wet but the smile never leaves her face "Like I am the only person in the universe".

Nobody has said a word for about 2 minutes now and I have yet to tear my eyes away from the beautiful blue of Brittany's.

A clearing of a throat and the awkward shuffling that follows is enough to draw the both of us out of our little trance and turn our attention to Noah. "You guys done eye fucking each other now?" he asks cheekily.

"Gah! Noah do you always have to be so vulgar?" I ask ignoring the question.

"I just call it as I see it babe" he winks flirtatiously.

"I must insist you stop referring to me as 'babe' as I dislike it immensely, or must I trip you again?" I ask a little smugly.

"Whoa there little lady, put the claws away" he says holding his hands up in defence.

I go into Rae mode then and put both my arms up and tense them"I think you mean my guns dude" I smirk.

"Hey man, give us a little warning before you do that shit, I might get whiplash" he says shaking his head amusedly.

"Whatever you say" I roll my eyes and turn back to Britt who has been watching us in amusement. I turn serious again. "So Brit, I hate to have to ask you this but... Would it be possible for you to keep this a secret? I just, I don't want all this effort to go to waste..." I really hate asking this of Brittany, I know how much she dislikes lie's.

"Of course Rach, I would never tell anyone, I want to help!" she says sincerely with a soft smile leaving butterflies in my stomach.

"Sweet! Another member for team Rayber!" Noah fist pumps while look at him queerly.

"Rayber?"

"Yeah, like Rae and Berry together, but different" he sounds pretty pleased with himself.

I shake my head "I have said this before and I will say it again, you need to work on these names of yours" such a lost cause. Brittany giggles slightly.

Noah pouts like a 3 year old and I suddenly have the urge to tease him some more, Rae is really rubbing off on me. "aww I thought you were badass Noah, since when does a badass pout?" I coo.

"Hey! That was a low blow man, real low" he says in mock disappointment.

"Yeah yeah, let's go already, I have to figure out how to make myself more believable to, I wouldn't want anyone else to discover my secret" Brittany starts walking next to me with Noah flanking my other side.

"I wouldn't worry Rach, nobody will find out, I just know because I know you so well! But I am sorry if I ruined your plans..." she trails off sadly.

No! That's not it at all! I halt and bring her to a stop next to me as I stand to face her head on. "Don't take that the wrong way Brit. I hated not being able to tell you who I was, I hated lying to you but I needed to be able to do this to protect you alright? I am so glad you know now though, it makes it a lot easier" I finish tucking a strand of blond hair behind her ear, relishing the contact as she leans into my palm.

"Ok Rach, but you need to tell me what this plan of yours is ok? I want to help you" she says earnestly as we continue our walk.

"I will tell you everything, how are you getting home?"

"Oh, I walk now" she says dismissively.

"You what?!" she can't possibly do that. "You live like 4 miles away Brit, you can't walk all that way every morning and afternoon! You're getting a lift with us" I say with finality.

"But..."

"No buts!"

"Hey, it's my car!" Noah huffs a little annoyed he's being left out of the conversation.

I turn to him and raise an eyebrow. Would he really deny Brittany, the most precious girl in this school, a ride to and from school?

"But of course you are welcome to tag a long" he concedes and I smile triumphantly.

"Ok, thank you Noah" she smiles sweetly.

"No Prob B... Hold on a sec, my name is Puck sweet cheeks" I slap him lightly for the pet name.

"Noah is your name, Rachel call's you it to so I don't see the problem" aww she looks so cute when she's confused.

"See Berry, you are ruining my reputation!"

"I don't see how that would ruin your reputation Noah. I still think you're a sweet heart" Brittany frowns in concentration as she thinks about it while I quietly chuckle.

"No, I am a badass ladies man!"

"I think you're the only one who believes that Noah" I continue laughing as he splutters. Too funny.

Ah. Poor Noah. Continuing to live his life in denial of his true nature. An old soul with a young Spirit. A rose among dandelions. A "OUCH! What was that for?" I rub my arm where he managed to pinch me.

"Did you not even realise you were speaking out loud?" he asks in amusement, Brittany laughing beside me.

"No..." Oops. "Anyway, Brit, I will fill you in on everything in the car on the way to your house"

"Er Rach? You spent like 2 hours telling me everything, that car journey won't be long enough" I guess he has a point.

"Well then, are you two up for Breadstix? We can talk it out there" I feel exhausted just thinking about this conversation.

"Ok Rachy" Brittany agrees, but looks a little wary about this topic.

"er sure Rach, but why do you need me there?" he asks confused.

"I don't know if I can repeat the whole story a second time without breaking down" I tell him honestly to which he gives a silent nod.

The ride to Breakstix was silent; I suppose it has something to do with the tense atmosphere that settled at the mention of what needs to be said. I intend on telling Brit everything, she deserves to know the truth and I don't want to lie to her ever again.

* * *

"When social services came to collect me, they had already got confirmation to take me away by my father's" I tell Brittany with a vacant feeling. I look up to meet Brittany's eyes across the table and almost gasp at what I see. If I thought Noah was angry before, it is nothing compared to the fire I see in her eyes.

Her knuckles have turned white from the grip she has on the table, as if to stop herself to run and find them herself. "They just left you?" she asks incredulously with undertones of anger.

"er yes?" I gulp nervously and notice Noah's snicker from the corner of my eye which is immediately halted from the glare he receives from Brittany.

"Those... Those Bastards!" she almost shouts as she slams her hands down on the table.

"Brittany!" She did not just swear!

"What?!" she huffs folding her arms. She looks so sexy when she's angry... Hold that thought.

"You-You swore" the number of times I have caught her telling of Santana for swearing is unreal, so you can understand my confusion.

"So what? You have been swearing pretty much all day, I think I can swear at least once"

"I was in character!"

We are interrupted by a hysterical laughter from Noah who has been watching the two of us "You two are like an old married couple!"

"Noah!" we both shout in unison.

"What?" he asks innocently.

I just shake my head and turn back to Brittany who looks to be in silent thought. "Why didn't you tell me Rach?" she asks sadly.

I hate making her sad "I didn't tell anyone Brit, I didn't want to be sent away if someone found out and told social services, which happened anyway... It's nothing personal Brittany, if I was going to tell anyone about being home alone, it would have been you, I promise" I say earnestly, hoping she can see the sincerity in my eyes.

She smiles shyly before frowning "But you told Noah"

"I TOLD Noah After everything had happened and that was only because I needed his help" I shrug.

"Hey!"

She smiles happily at this but of information "So how did you end up like this Rach? How are you still in Lima?" she asks curiously.

I spend the next hour telling her about how I met my mother and about my plan for McKinley high and their HBIC's.

"I'ma want me some Breadstix!" is practically shouted across the room and we all turn to spot an angry Santana and a red face waiter. Sat at her table are Quinn, Roxanne, Cindy and Christie. Fantastic, more cheerleaders.

"Do you think we can sneak out before they notice we are here?" I ask hopefully, even if I understand that the chances of that are excruciatingly slim.

"I don't think so babe" I really wish he'd stop calling me that.

"Let's just leave Rae Rae" Brittany reminds me to be in character, I will never understand how everyone thinks she is stupid, she's so clever!

I instantaneously broke off into character the moment Brittany gave me that subtle reminder meaning my posture and facial expressions have returned to Rae Corcoran. Everything about my character screams attitude.

"What did I tell you about warning me?" Noah whines pathetically as I stand from the table.

I merely shrug in response and turn, kicking my chair back under the table. I perform an exaggerated bow and hold my hand out for Brittany to take. "M'lady" I give her a cheeky smile as she chuckles taking my hand.

"Good sir" I love it when she plays a long.

With my strength it was easy to pull her up from her chair, a little easier than I expected as I managed to pull her right into me. My eyes snap up to meet the sparkling blue that has so many times left me in a trance, now being no exception. We are so close that I can feel her breath ghosting across my face, so agonisingly close.

Thankfully Noah's not so subtle cough is enough to snap me back to reality and put some space between us. Just because Brittany is aware that I like her, if her speech earlier is any indication of that, does not mean she returns the sentiment. I can't help but notice the slight disappointment that crosses her face...

I release her hand and head towards the exit with Noah and Brittany flanking my sides. Unfortunately, the cheerleaders table happened to be on course.

"Fucking Fantastic, you just had to go and ruin my favourite place" Santana says staring at me, causing the rest of them to turn and look as well.

I stop by her table while rolling my eyes, does this girl never quit?

"Jesus Satan, can't you just back off already? Stop hating on my guy!" Seems I'm not the only one getting fed up with Santana's attitude. It's kind of sweet how Noah is sticking up for me though. Thanks Noah.

"Oh? I'm sorry, didn't know you're into dick these days." Santana smirks evilly, getting a laugh from the other girls.

"I'm sure you know a lot about playing for the same team don't you babe?" two can play this game. Ohh, I feel mean hehe. It doesn't exactly take a genius to discover Satan's sexual orientation.

"Fuck you" she spits out, red in the face with anger while the others look confused.

"Well, I wouldn't mind, but I'm not exactly your type am I?" If she is going to be an evil cow about everything, then I can be just as mean. I have let her walk all over me for way to long, at least with this I can get some pay back.

She quickly jumps out of her chair and goes to lunge at me, but as she does, she knocks Cindy's chair over as well, sending her crashing to the floor. I side step Santana's attack, "Calm yourself Satan, I was only messing" What? She may be a bitch, but even I am not cruel enough to 'out' her. I notice Brittany's frown turn into a small smile at that comment, knowing that she agrees with me.

I walk around to Cindy and hold my hand out for her to take "Hey are you ok? You took a bit of a fall there babe." She looks up a little shocked that I am even offering her help while the rest of her table gapes at me.

She looks a little unsure so I give her the most charming smile I can muster, making her putty in my hands as she accepts my help "Y-yeah thanks" she stutters out.

"No problem" I wink, giving her a sexy smile as I turn back to Noah and Brittany.

"Nice one bro" he smirks, holding his hand out for a fist bump which I gladly comply. I look to Brittany who isn't even looking at me, but glaring at Cindy instead. What's up with that?

"Where are you going?" Santana glares, now fully recomposed and back to being annoying.

"Er home? Got a problem with that?" I challenge.

She just glares, marching back to her seat, landing on it with a huff. I give one final glance at the table, noticing some of the girls still look a little shell shocked, but find myself wondering why Quinn is also glaring at Cindy, what the hell?

"Well ladies as fun as this has been, I must bid thee farewell." I do my best version of a gentlemanly bow and raise my head to give them a sneaky smile and wink. I never realised how fun it was to make people blush!

I turn once again to leave and notice Brit already leaving, I look to Noah with a clueless expression "What?" I ask, referring to Brit.

He shakes his head with a smile "Dude, you are a fucking legends when it comes to chicks, but you suck when it comes to the girl you like..." he turns to follow leaving me to trail behind.

"Hold up! What do you mean by that? Does she like me? Wai... PUCKERMAN!"

* * *

_Well i hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for sticking with me through this. I don't plan on stopping this fic, but i do apologise for the wait._

_Thanks again and i look forward to your reviews! xx_


End file.

Glee, Drama, Romance