I got the idea for this when I was watching the episode Throwdown. Takes place after Quinn's pregnancy is announced. Rachel may be a bit out of character but I want to try writing about a side of her that you never really see.

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

Rachel Berry stared at Finn trying to comfort a hysterical Quinn. Only one word flashed through her mind; 'failure'. She had failed at trying to protect them. She could now lose all hope of getting him to fall for her. She had lost this battle. Quinn had won his heart and she had to accept the fact that Finn wouldn't leave her side now that she was pregnant with his child. She slowly turned around and walked back down the hallway to her locker. The more she thought about this the more it bothered her. 'I thought that Jacob would have stayed true to his word… gosh I am such an idiot.' The taunting thought seem it circle her mind like a shark does. When the final bell sounded she made her way to her car after getting her books from her locker.

As she got into her car she saw Quinn out of the corner of her eye. Guilt washed through her as she saw the dried tears on her cheeks. She felt envy when Finn Hudson came up behind Quinn and wrapped his strong arms around her. Jacob had been right. Finn didn't want her. He chose Quinn but why wouldn't he? She was tall, blonde, smart, and pretty. Rachel was just short, talkative, self-centered, and ugly compared to Quinn. She felt her shoulders sag as she drove home. She pulled into the garage and turned the engine off. She made her way into the house. She dragged herself into her room and flopped down on her bed. Deciding to start her homework, she dragged a text book from her bag and began to deal with the task a head.

By the time 6:30 rolled around, she had finished her homework and had started trying to come up with some song ideas for Glee, but her heart just wasn't in it. She felt like she had just gotten a punch in the gut. She went downstairs to the kitchen and then saw a note on the refrigerator door. Removing it from its place, she quickly skimmed over it. It said that her dad had a big press conference in New Jersey and that they had to stay there for the next three days. She didn't read any more after that. She had gotten used to this very quickly. Her dad was a big executive in his company so he was often going out to meetings so her daddy always went with him. She went to go get herself something to eat but then stopped herself when her stomach did a flip. She pulled her hand off the handle and turned away. Instead she got herself a glass of water to try to calm her upset stomach.

She walked into the den and sat on the couch. Curling up under a throw blanket she put on a random channel and started to watch what ever was on. She soon got engulfed by the plot of 'Jaws'; however, when the movie was about half finished, she felt to tired to keep watching so she made her way upstairs. Snuggling under her covers she closed her eyes and tried to force herself to enter a dreamless sleep.

-The following morning-

Rachel was soon forced awake by her blaring alarm clock. As she lay awake for a few minutes, the events from yesterday reentered her mind. Deciding to skip her morning workout she went to here closet and grabbed a pink shirt with a puppy on it and a black skirt as well as a bra and underpants, she made her way to the bathroom. She turned on the hot water and stripped down. Once she was nude she got under the hot spray of water and let it soothe her aching muscles. Twenty minutes later she turned off the water and got out of the shower. She wrapped her pink, fluffy towel around her. Once she was dry she dressed herself and went down the stairs, after she grabbed her school bag. She glanced at the clock and then decided to just leave for school and eat a granola bar on the way.

Grabbing one from the kitchen she quickly made her way to the car. Backing out of the garage, she made her way down the street after she made sure that it was closed. Quickly devouring the bar she realized that she still felt a tad hungry but decided that she could wait for lunch. She pulled into the school parking lot. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she got out of the car, locked it, and made her way into the school. When she reached her locker, it took her a moment to spin her combination. When it popped open, she reached in and grabbed her folder, putting her unnecessary books into it. As she was about to close it was slammed closed. She jumped and looked up. Towering above her, Finn Hudson glared at her. He grabbed her forearm roughly and started to drag her along the hallway. When he reached a secluded part of the hall he let her go with a face of disgust and turned her quickly to face him. She cowered back from him slightly.

"What the heck, Rachel! I thought that you got that Jacob kid to not run the story. You told me you gave him your underpants to get him to stop. Is that just a bunch of shit you told me to get me to talk to you, to see you in a new light? Do you know what you just did to poor Quinn! She is so upset that she cried for three hours straight!" Finn practically shouted at her, all the while pointing his finger at her. Rachel was scared to say the least. Finn had never yelled at her and this side of him was frightening. "I-I-I did give him my underwear to get him to stop! Ms. Sylvester found them in his locker and he told her about Quinn. I swear I did everything I could," she said in one breathe in a hurry. His eyes narrowed at her before he took a deep breathe and looked her right in the eye, "You know I thought that you were awesome; doing all that stuff to help me with my singing and how you 'helped' Quinn and me out with the baby, but that was just some little lie that you told. Now I want you to leave me and Quinn alone. Don't talk to me, stick up for me, anything that has anything to do with you being involved with me. The only thing that we'll do together from here on out is sing together. Do I make myself clear?" He asked with a cold look that dared her to say no. She quickly nodded her head and he gave her a curt nod before walking away.

Rachel sat there for a moment trying to absorb what had just happened. Then it hit her like a ton of bricks. She had just lost her only friend. She was friendless and now had no one to lean on. She dragged herself down the hallway and just as she rounded the corner, she was met by a slushie. As she saw the offender, Noah Puckerman, high five a fellow jock, she had to hold the tears back. She made a mad dash for the bathroom to change out of the stained clothing. She ran into a stall and opened her bag. Pulling out the spare clothes, she began to peel away the stained cloth. She took out a towel and wrapped it around her head. As she dressed herself she let a few tears fall down her cheeks. When she was redressed, she exited the stall and turned on the tap on the sink. Once it was cool, she took her hair and began to run it under the water, attempting to get rid of the stickiness. It took a while but she eventually managed to get all the slushie out and after cleaning it off her face, she made her way to first period. The bell rang just as she entered the room and she quickly took a seat. As the day went on, she felt the full blow of Finn's words like she had been stabbed and the knife had been left in her. By the time lunch rolled around, she was feeling lower than low and had lost her appetite. She walked into the lunch room and saw the Glee Club sitting together, minus the Cheerios and Jocks. She approached quietly and cleared her throat to get their attention. When everyone turned to see who it was she quickly stammered out, "C-c-can I sit with you guys?"

They all looked at each other. What was with her? Usually she would just sit down and start jabbering and they would feel the urge to shove a sock in her mouth. Tina shrugged then turned to Rachel and said, "S-s-s-s-sure Rachel. Pull up a c-c-c-chair." Rachel smiled graciously before she sat in a seat between Mercedes and Tina. From that point on she kept her mouth shut, listening to the carefree chatter around her. 'Wow, I really am a loser… good why am I such a failure at everything I do. No wonder everybody hates me,' She thought to herself as she sat there her chin resting on one hand. "Rachel, are you going to eat?" Artie asked a bit concerned as he saw that the girl hadn't eaten anything. The girl shook her head in response and answered, "I'm not hungry." The table shared a look. "Look here, babe. I know that you see all the skinny ass models and cheerios walking around and that you want to be like them, but it's dangerous to stop eating. Don't do it to yourself. You could get really sick and we need you for sectionals," Mercedes said. Rachel decided to act her way out of this and sent a reassuring smile at them. "I just had a big breakfast. I know it's dangerous and I would never try it. Thank you for the concern though," she said plastering a fake grin on her lips. Mercedes, satisfied she had made an effort, brought up the topic of the new Zac Efron movie and how she wanted to go see it. Rachel once again zoned out and was pulled away from her thoughts by the bell.

The rest of the day droned on and after what felt like forever the day was over and it was time for Glee. She made it to her locker and she opened it. She decided to take her time, considering she would just be an annoyance. She spent a good five minutes sorting through her stuff and gathering her necessities she made her way to the choir room. She walked slowly; not in any hurry to go and see the people that only wanted her for her talent. It took her four minutes to walk the usually two minute walk. When she reached the choir room she walked in taking a cautious look around to see that the entire Glee Club was already seated around the room. Seeing a chair partially excluded from the others she sat down and began to fish out her homework only to stop when she saw Mr. Shuster enter from his office. "Alright, now that we're all here let's get started. I know that we got taken on a little detour with Ms. Sylvester. Let's just get back on track with rehearsing our numbers for sectionals. Let's do 'Somebody to love'. Rachel, Finn, are you two ready?" He asked looking between the young leads. Finn nodded, kissed Quinn's cheek and took her hand leading her to the auditorium to rehearse.

Rachel grabbed her bag then turned to follow the glee club as they began to follow the quarterback and cheerleader to the auditorium. Rachel's shoulders sagged as she walked down the hall way. She lagged behind the rest of the group as they all chatted away freely. She was an outsider. It was clear that they didn't care about her happiness. It was about time that she learned to accept it.

When she reached the auditorium she dumped her bag in a chair near the exit. She walked up the steps to the stage and once everyone was in position they began to sing the song. Through out the entire number Finn refused to look at her. He simply pretending she was a random girl on the street or on the bus.

Will Shuster could tell something was up. Rachel's voice was strong and clear as a bell but it lacked emotion. She simply went through the motions of performing. "Come on guys! Energy!" He called out and Rachel put on a big smile. It didn't reach her eyes though. When the song finished he sighed heavily. "That was pretty good guys. We need to work on it a little bit but that's in good shape. Take five. We'll run it again after the break. Rachel, I need to speak to you for a moment," he said. Rachel walked over to Mr. Shue ready to get lectured for another thing she couldn't do right. When she reached him he put a hand on her shoulder. "Rachel, are you alright. You seem kind of out of it. Did something happen at home? Do you want to go home?" He asked her, concerned for his student. "I'm fine, Mr. Shue. I'm just a little tired I guess. I'll try to do better," she said. He looked her in the eye while saying, "Rachel if you don't feel good then you should rest." Rachel tried her best to muster a sincere smile. "I'm fine Mr. Shue. I promise." He smiled at her after she said that. Giving her shoulder a pat, he told her to get some water before they had to perform again. She nodded before she walked to her back pack, fished out her water bottle and took a sip. She then screwed the cap back on, put it back in its place, and walked back to the stage and made it just by the time Mr. Shuster told them to get in their places.

By the time they were released, they had run the number about two more times. It hadn't gotten any better in the time they worked on it. Mr. Shuster could tell that the rehearsal would just continue to go down hill so he called it off. Now, Rachel was walking through the rain to her car. She was already drenched through her clothes and was shivering. She saw a truck pull up beside her and the window was rolled down. She was about to run when she saw it was Noah. "Hop in. I'll give you a ride to your car," he said. She looked at him cautiously before complying with his proposal. She opened the door before she looked at the distance from the ground to the seat. She braced herself against the door before trying to drag herself up. "You gonna make it, Berry?" He asked after watching her struggle for a moment. Finally mustering the strength to drag her tiny frame up into the cab, she shut the door. There was only silence between the two as he drove the short distance to her car. When he pulled up next to it, he put it in park. She was about to get out when she hesitated. "Noah, why are you doing this for me?" She asked slightly curious. He shifted a bit uncomfortably before answering, "You looked like a half drowned kitten. I may be a bad ass, but I'm not heartless… well you get the idea. This doesn't change anything. You can still expect a slushie facial tomorrow." She nodded before turning her attention back toward the door. "Thank you," she muttered before she hopped out and raced to get into her car.

As she drove home she let a few tears slip down her cheeks. So far the only good think that had happened was Noah giving her the ride to her car because it saved her from getting drenched any further. As she made her way into her house, she thought about how her only friend had hurt her terribly and her enemy had helped her out. That didn't change the facts; she was still a failure. Only time could tell if she could actually succeed in cleaning up the mess she felt she had caused.

Author's Note:

Well this is the first installment. Thoughts? I do know that most characters are written out of character. Hope you liked it any way. Hopefully the next chapter will be posted soon. Please review.