For those of you who follow me on tumblr, you know I wrote the first chapter to three different stories while trying to pick my next one. What I failed to tell everyone was that when I picked Goodbye to Yesterday as my next story, I also decided to work on another.

This is basically my homage to 90s teen movies and I hope you all enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 1 – New

"Rach!"

Rachel stopped in her tracks and turned around to find her best friend jogging toward her; he smiled widely as he approached and hiked his backpack up on his shoulder.

"Good morning, Sam," Rachel greeted.

"We still meeting at lunch?" Sam asked.

"I haven't forgotten," Rachel said, turning, and making her way to her locker. "We'll find you the perfect song."

"We better or I won't stand a chance of getting that solo," Sam said, leaning against the locker next to hers.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it if I were you," Rachel replied. "You know how Mr. Schue is; I doubt he'll remember any of this."

"I just don't see why Finn gets all the solos," Sam said, sighing. "I'm a way better singer than him and we sound awesome together, and everyone knows you're going to get to have all the solos for Sectionals, so why not let me sing with you?"

"Sam—"

"We have to win this year," Sam continued as if she didn't say anything. "We have to win and show everyone that we're—"

"Sam," Rachel repeated, clamping her hand over his mouth.

"Was I doing it again?" he mumbled against her hand.

Rachel nodded, removing her hand. "You know I want to win just as much as you—more so, really—but there's no point in worrying about it now. Mr. Schue never decides anything until a few weeks before the competition, and even if you give an absolutely spectacular performance, he will have forgotten completely about it by next week."

Sam sighed. "It's not fair, dude; I'm a better singer than him, I'm a better dancer than him—I'm even a better quarterback than him—"

"I know, Sam," Rachel interrupted. "It's not fair, but since when has anything at this school ever been fair?"

"But—whoa."

Rachel grabbed her book from her locker and followed Sam's gaze, wondering why he had stopped talking so abruptly and was currently staring down the hall with his mouth hanging open. "What are you staring at?"

"Her," Sam said.

"Her who?" Rachel asked, turning back to close her locker.

"That blonde girl down there," Sam replied. "She's so pretty. She must be new because I would remember her if I'd ever seen her before."

Rachel tried to not roll her eyes at her friend; Sam had a new crush every month, so she was more than used to this by now. She looked down the hall again, though, and instantly spotted the girl he must be talking about. Sam was right about one thing—she was pretty. She was probably the prettiest girl Rachel had ever seen. At least Sam's taste had improved since the last one.

"Did you remember your guitar today?" Rachel asked, looking at Sam, trying to bring his attention back to their previous conversation.

"Yeah, I stashed it in the choir room," Sam said as he continued to stare down the hall.

"Was that really such a good idea?" Rachel asked. "Do you remember what happened to it the last time you left it in there? We spent an hour looking all over the school for it and we found it in one of the showers."

"I hid it in a cabinet this time," Sam replied.

Rachel sighed and looked down the hall again. "Why don't you walk down there and ask her out?"

"I can't do that," Sam said, looking at her as if she had grown a second head.

"Why not?" Rachel asked. "You're a good looking guy, Sam; she'll probably think you're cute."

"But what if she doesn't?" Sam asked. "What if she just laughs at me?"

"Then you walk away," Rachel replied.

Sam frowned at her. "You're not helping."

"The chances of her simply laughing at you are low," Rachel said, sighing. "If anything, she would probably tell you she was flattered but not interested. If she laughs at you, though, it would be an obvious sign that she's not a very nice person, and you should consider yourself lucky that you figured that out before getting involved with her."

"Oh, she's coming; pretend we're not staring," Sam said, turning in a circle, before finally leaning his back against the locker, trying to look nonchalant.

"I'm not staring, you are," Rachel replied, resisting the urge to laugh at her friend.

Sam smiled widely as the girl walked by with Miss Pillsbury, but his face fell when she didn't look their way. He groaned and turned around, kicking lightly at one of the bottom lockers. Rachel sighed and decided to take pity on him as she grabbed his arm, and pulled him away from the locker.

"We'll figure out who she is, okay?" Rachel said, leading him down the hallway. "We are friends with the three biggest gossips in this school, after all; one of them is bound to know something about her by lunch. Just go to class and try to focus; you can't afford to fail your exam tomorrow. It would be a terrible way to start the year."

"Okay," Sam said, nodding. "You're right."

"Of course I'm right," Rachel replied.

"What would I do without you?" Sam said, giving her a lopsided smile.

"Let's hope you never find out," Rachel said, nudging her shoulder into his arm. "I'm off to Physics; wish me luck."

"Have fun," Sam said over his shoulder.

Rachel headed into the classroom, but stopped as soon as she was in the doorway. Her usually empty table was currently occupied, and Rachel didn't know if she should sit next to the girl or find a different table. She remembered that the class was full, though, and it wasn't very nice to displace someone else for no reason.

"Out of the way, Berry," Santana's caustic voice said as she rammed her shoulder into Rachel's back, knocking her to the side.

Rachel sighed and stepped aside for Brittany to enter since wherever one was, the other wasn't far behind. Sure enough, the blonde Cheerio walked in right after the other girl, giving Rachel an apologetic smile. Brittany wasn't the nicest girl around, but at least she wasn't outwardly hostile like the other cheerleader.

Once Rachel regained her composure, she squared her shoulder, lifted her chin, and walked across the room. As she approached, the blonde looked up from her notebook and locked eyes with her. Rachel faltered for a moment, thrown by the intensity in the girl's hazel eyes, but she took the remaining few steps to the table and smiled.

"Am I in your seat?" the blonde asked.

"Yes, but I'm not particularly attached to it, so I can sit here," Rachel said, taking the seat next to her. "I'm Rachel—Rachel Berry."

"Quinn Fabray," the blonde said.

"So, what brings you to Lima?" Rachel asked. "I hope I'm not being too nosy by asking."

"My dad transferred jobs," Quinn answered. "He didn't find out until a month ago, which means I now get to spend the rest of my senior year here."

"Where did you live before?" Rachel wondered.

"Akron," Quinn replied.

Rachel nodded. "So you probably went to Carmel High."

"You've been there?" Quinn asked.

"A few times," Rachel replied. "Vocal Adrenaline is our biggest rival."

Quinn looked at her with an amused smile. "You're in show choir?"

"I am co-captain of New Directions," Rachel said with a nod. "Singing is my life. My dream is to move to New York, graduate from a performing arts school, be on Broadway, and win a Tony by the time I'm twenty-five."

"That's awfully ambitious," Quinn commented.

Rachel shrugged. "Maybe, but I'm confident my dream will come true."

"No one cares, Berry," Santana hissed in Rachel's ear as she walked by.

"Who is that?" Quinn asked, eyeing Santana.

"No one important," Rachel replied, pulling her book out of her bag.

Quinn nodded and Rachel noticed Santana smirking back at them. She looked away, determined to not let the other girl know she was getting to her. She could feel Santana staring at her, though, probably figuring out some new humiliation for her, and it made her nervous. She was about to turn to Quinn and ask how she was liking it in Lima, but the teacher walked into the room and Rachel snapped her mouth shut. When Rachel looked forward, Santana was still staring at her, and she knew she was going to end up with a slushy to her face today.

"Hey," Sam said, coming up to Rachel's locker.

"I was just about to meet you in the choir room," Rachel said, shutting her bag in her locker.

"Change of plans," Sam replied.

Rachel sighed. "What happened? Is your guitar missing?"

"Not exactly," Sam said, running a hand through his hair. "More like someone cut all the strings, so I have to go buy some new ones."

"I told you not to put it in the choir room," Rachel said, shaking her head.

"Don't rub it in," Sam replied.

"Do you still want to work on finding a song?" Rachel asked.

"No," Sam replied. "Let's just go to the cafeteria. I'm hungry anyway."

Rachel nodded and the two started walking toward the cafeteria; Rachel was looking around, making sure she wasn't about to be attacked by Santana. As she walked into the cafeteria, she immediately saw the other girl at the table in the back of the room with all the other Cheerios. That didn't mean she hadn't already talked some nameless jock into doing her bidding, though.

"Who are you looking for?" Sam asked.

"No one," Rachel replied. "I was simply making sure I wasn't about to get a slushy thrown in my face by Santana. She was staring at me in first period like I'd been marked for death."

"Yeah, I know that feeling," Sam said, glancing over his shoulder.

The two went through the line to get their food. As Sam was getting his tray, he was knocked to the side by a group of jocks who seemed to think it was their right to skip to the front of the line.

"Excuse you, Noah," Rachel said, glaring at the back of his head.

The mohawked boy looked at her, but he didn't say anything. The only reason he didn't treat her like he did everyone else in Glee was because their families went to Temple together, and if she told his grandmother how he behaved, she would not be a happy woman. She would tell her about his behavior at school, but she knew it would only lead to retaliation from all his friends. So, she didn't tell and he left her alone—it was their unspoken agreement.

"I found out a little bit about the new girl," Rachel commented as she put some salad onto her tray.

"Seriously?" Sam asked, turning around with a smile.

"Her name is Quinn Fabray, she's from Akron, she went to Carmel, she's a senior, and she's here because her dad transferred jobs," Rachel said, rattling off everything the blonde had told her.

"How do you know all this?" Sam asked, grabbing two hamburgers for himself.

"She was in my seat in physics, so I sat next to her," Rachel said with a shrug.

"Awesome," Sam said, his smile brightening. "What's she like."

"We didn't really converse very long because Mr. Jacobson came in, but she seems nice," Rachel commented. "I'm reserving my official judgment, though; she seemed amused by the fact that I am in show choir."

"Bright side?" Sam said. "At least that means she wasn't in Vocal Adrenaline, so she isn't here to spy on us or sabotage us."

Sam paid for his food and waited on Rachel to pay for hers; the two walked to their usual table, but none of their friends were there yet. It was unusual and Rachel wondered if maybe they were late because someone had been hit with a slushy. She looked toward the door, though, and saw several of them at the back of the line. They all appeared to be wearing the clothes they had previously been wearing, so she ruled out any of them being doused with the colorful drink.

"There she is," Sam said, craning his neck.

"What?" Rachel asked, starting to turn around, but Sam grabbed her arm.

"Don't look," he loudly whispered. "She'll think we're looking at her."

"We are looking at her," Rachel said, rolling her eyes.

"But she doesn't need to know that," Sam replied.

"I should ask her to join us," Sam said, running his hand through his hair.

"Well, she doesn't look like she knows where to sit, so yes, that would probably be an excellent idea," Rachel replied.

Sam nodded. "I should definitely go ask her."

"If you don't do it soon, someone else is going to ask her," Rachel stated.

"Right—you're right," Sam replied. "Okay, I'm—oh no."

"What?" Rachel asked, looking over her shoulder. "I told you someone else was going to ask her."

"Not Puck," Sam said, deflating. "Anyone but Puck."

"What are we all looking at?"

Rachel looked up and found Kurt standing at the end of the table. "The new girl; Sam was going to invite her to sit with us, but Noah got there first."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Sure he was."

"I was," Sam said, frowning. "Blaine believes me, don't you, Blaine?"

"Sure, Sam," Blaine replied, smiling way too much for it to be sincere.

"What are we looking at?" Tina asked, coming up to the table with Mercedes and Artie.

"Apparently the new girl, who is now talking to Puck," Blaine answered.

"And why do we care?" Mercedes asked.

"I don't know," Blaine replied. "Why do we care?"

"Let me guess—you like her," Kurt said, looking at Sam.

"Look at her; she's so pretty," Sam said, getting that far-off look in his eye that he usually got when he was daydreaming,

"Dude's right about that," Artie said, nodding his head in approval.

"She is very pretty," Blaine agreed, and Kurt gave him a look. "What? I'm gay, I'm not blind."

"Okay, looks aside, have you even talked to this girl?" Mercedes asked.

"No," Sam admitted. "Rachel has, though."

"What's she like?" Tina asked.

"I don't know—she seemed nice," Rachel said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"She won't be for long," Kurt replied.

"What?" Sam asked.

"It looks like she's already chosen her side," Kurt stated, nodding his head toward the other table.

Rachel looked over her shoulder and watched as the blonde sat down at the table with the Cheerios and the football players. It looked like Brittany was already talking to her, which Santana didn't look very happy about. Puck was looking at her like she was his next conquest and Finn was just staring at her.

"Ten bucks says she'll be in one of those Cheerios uniforms by the end of school," Mercedes said.

"You don't know that," Sam replied.

"Face it, you're never getting her now," Artie said, shaking his head.

Sam sighed as he watched her across the cafeteria, and repeated, "You don't know that."

"Do you think that girl's going to hang with us when she can hang with the cool kids?" Mercedes asked. "Look at her; she's a pretty, skinny, white girl. She's Coach Sylvester dream Cheerio, and who's going to say no to Coach Sylvester?"

"She might," Sam said, not sounding very sure of it.

"You don't have a chance, Sam, and you know it," Mercedes argued.

Rachel patted Sam's hand; she didn't like seeing him so down, but their friends were speaking the truth. The school was divided and nothing was going to change that. Sam had chosen his side last year when he stood up for Rachel in the hall after she'd been slushied. It really wasn't fair to him, though; that one move placed him permanently in the 'unpopular' category because Rachel was the prime target for all the jocks and cheerleaders. Sam was an athlete—a football player to be exact—but despite making the football team, his siding with Rachel made him an outcast, and he eventually quit the team because of all the harassment he faced. He was her best friend and she felt terrible that she was the cause of his social status, but he never once blamed her for it.

"He might," Blaine said. "Who says she's going to be like the rest of them? If Rachel says she's nice, maybe she is."

"Blaine, I love you, and I know you want to think the best of people, but she's going to be just like the rest of them," Kurt stated. "She'll be throwing slushies in our faces by the end of the week."

Rachel looked over her shoulder again and observed the blonde. Puck was leaning in close, saying something to her, but Rachel could tell by her rigid posture that she wasn't exactly enjoying the conversation. Finally, Puck pulled away with a smirk on his face, and then turned to talk to Finn. Quinn rolled her eyes as soon as his back was turned and Rachel had to stifle a laugh.

"What are you laughing about?" Kurt asked, eyeing her.

"Nothing," Rachel said, turning around.

Her friends continued their discussion of whether or not Quinn was going to slushy them by the end of the week, or if she was going to at least wait a few weeks. Rachel stayed out of the conversation, though; she liked to give people the benefit of the doubt, and she'd seen no indication that the other girl was going to end up like all the rest.

When she looked over her shoulder, Quinn was talking to Brittany again. She was smiling now, though, and seemed to be enjoying whatever Brittany was saying a lot more than what Puck was saying. Quinn's eyes looked in her direction, and the two locked eyes; Rachel blushed at being caught staring, but the blonde just smiled at her. Rachel gave her a small wave, and as she turned around to her friends again, she hoped they were wrong. She didn't want Quinn to become just another Cheerio.

There will be another chapter up on Thursday, which will be the day it's normally updated. As always, you can find the update schedule on my tumblr.

Please leave a comment and let me know what you thought.