It was a new year at McKinley. Rachel Berry knew that this year anything could happen. As she walked down the hallway, books in hand, she faintly heard snickering from her peers, but she just held her head high and continued her way towards her locker. She should've thought more of it because as soon as she rounded the corner, an ice-cold slushy was thrown in her face.

"Welcome back Gleeotch!" Karofsky sneered.

Yeah, this is definitely my year, Rachel thought bitterly while the slushy made its way down her face into her shirt.

Meanwhile, down the hallway, Puck saw Rachel get slushied and immediately went to her rescue, pushing kids out of the way in his haste.

"The hell is your problem man! Why don't you pick on someone your own size? Get out of here if you know what's good for you," Puck menacingly tells the other jock.

Karofsky scoffed, "You don't scare me Puckerman."

Puck glances at him with as much hate as he can possibly muster into one stare. "Leave or I will make you."

After one last look, Karofsky scurries away, leaving a very satisfied Puck staring after him until he couldn't be seen anymore. "Alright everyone, shows over! Get to your classes," Puck said. He watches the other kids move away quickly and turns back to Rachel, frowning.

"Are you okay babe? Want me to beat him up? Cause I can if you want."

"That's not necessary Noah, but thank you for your services," Rachel said as she started to walk away with a sad expression on her face.

Puck stood there for a few moments watching Rachel walk away before he got an idea. He chases after her and says, "How about you get changed, we ditch for a couple of hours and come back in time for glee club?"

Puck noticed that Rachel was about to protest so he interrupts saying," C'mon, you don't really need to be in school the first day anyway. The teachers don't actually teach until after a couple of days have passed, you know that. Plus, do you really want to go through getting slushied again? Cause you know it could happen. Just come with me, I promise I'll behave," Puck pleads with a hopeful expression.

Rachel thinks for a while and sighs. " Alright Noah, but no funny business. I can't believe I'm actually doing this seeing as my perfect attendance record will be tarnished now," she frowns, "I'll meet you by the parking lot once I'm done. See you in a bit."

"You won't regret this Jew babe," Noah says with a wink.

Rachel nods once, smiling a bit and scurries off, leaving Puck staring after her before heading in the opposite direction and going outside.

"I can't believe this happened! And on my favorite sweater too," Rachel said to herself, frowning. She had come into the closest girls restroom after going to her locker to get her emergency slushy kit. Thank God she always had her kit because walking around in ruined clothes would be absolutely terrible. Especially with the sticky situation.

She stares at her reflection in the mirror and forces herself to put on a brave face and not cry. Rachel knows she's strong enough to pretend like nothing ever happened and continue with her life. She takes off her shirt, cleaning off the mess of the slushy from her chest with a wet paper towel as quickly as possible. There was no need for some cheerio to come in an humiliate her more than she already was. She put on a red v-neck and a pair of dark skinny jeans. They were the last set of clothing in her bag so even if she preferred wearing her argyle, this would have to do. How it got in there she had no idea, although she's certain that Kurt might've had something to do with it. She rinsed out her hair, thanking whatever God was helping her that the slushy only got in her bangs. She checks herself in the mirror one last time before heading out the door.

Sighing she thinks, Could this day get any worse? In her head, it could actually be way worse and is actually happy that Noah offered to ditch school with her. Not that she would on her own, especially with her 'always be in school no matter what attitude', but it really helped her keep some of that happiness she was sporting earlier that morning before the slushy incident. "Head up, Rachel. You're better than them, don't let them see you down," she whispered to herself.

As Rachel walked down the hallway towards the front doors of the building, she noticed Quinn Fabray and her heart beats just a little faster than before. Her smile gets impossibly wider, but quickly turns into a frown when she notices an arm draped around her body. That arm belonged to one Finn Hudson and she couldn't help feeling a bit of jealousy. As she nears them and the doorway, she stared daggers at the boy before heading outside to meet Noah. Little did she know that that little interaction got noticed by a tall blonde standing next to Artie.