Chapter Text
It was a normal day for Finn Hudson as his girlfriend came up to him. The two shared a kiss and he smiles, “What was that for?” Rachel returns the gesture, “I want you to come over later.” Though the news was bad, Rachel managed to keep that thought away from him with her smile. Not that he knew it was going to be bad. Not yet.
“Kinda last minute don't you think?” Finn asks. It was the end of the day and the two only had one period left. “I know… Sorry about that.” She glances away but then perks up again, “I’ll make grilled cheese?” His eyes brighten as she mentions his favourite meal.
Soon the bell rang and both Rachel and Finn got to their last periods. The clock felt fast that day and before she knew it, Rachel was already sitting on her bed with her boyfriend.
“So, how's the sandwich?” She asks. He just nods with a mouth full of food, almost looking like a chipmunk. Rachel giggles at the thought. Once Finn swallows he finally asks, “So, why’d you want me over?” She looks down into her lap. “I have news. It’s not old news but I think you should know.” it takes every ounce of him not to feel anxious. “Uh… Okay.” The football player braces himself. Emotionally at least.
Rachel takes a deep breath. It was quiet. It was hard to tell him this. No one else knew her secret other than her fathers of course. It was partially their fault but she didn't exactly mind until now. With high school being so hard it was an issue for her. Sighing she opens her mouth to speak, “I’m illiterate.” The words come out in a flat tone. It didn't sound like Rachel at all. Not sad, not disappointed, not happy, not angry. It was… Neutral in a sense. She said it like it was a fact. Which it was. Finn just didn't believe her at first.
“You’re what?” He cocks a brow, Finn wasn't one of the brightest after all. “I’m illiterate.” she repeats herself. “Okay but Rach, I don't know what that means.” Rachel sighs, closing her eyes to regain herself. “I can't read or write.” Finn’s jaw practically fell to the ground. “Wait wait wait wait. Yeah, you can!” He tries to grasp the concept of Rachel not knowing how to do to do something so simple, “I see you write your name all the time! And you love books! You are always reading them!” She shakes her head, “I don't read books. I look at the words… Aimlessly.” Rachel could hear her own distaste in her voice.
“But you… I see you write in class!” Finn is babbling at this point and all Rachel can do is sit and watch. “No Finn, you don't.” He just sits with an open mouth. “Yeah, you do!” He stands up, “I see you write and read all the time Rachel.” Rachel doesn't know what to say. Finn doesn't believe her. “Bring me a book from the shelf over there.” She says, “I’ll show you.” Finn surprisingly does as he's told.
Finn sits next to Rachel on the bed, handing her the book he says, “You can't fake it Rachel.” she ignores his comment. “Pick a page. Any random one should do.” She hands him the book. He skims through the pages trying to find his favourite, “Finn it's not like I can read any of them.” He winces, “Don't say that Rachel! Confidence!” The brunette rolls her eyes, “Having confidence and being illiterate are two very different things.” He finally picks a page and returns the book to her.
Rachel takes the book and looks at the first word. She takes a breath, readying herself for failure. What was the point anyway? She didn't know what the first word said. “Rachel come on. The first word is ‘counsel’ it's easy.” “I told you. I can't read.” Finn realized that this odd dream was becoming a reality. What was he going to do?
“Well… Maybe I can teach you?” He asks. She looks up from her lap, “What?” “What if I teach you to read and write?” Finn obviously felt proud of himself for the idea but Rachel wasn't the biggest fan. “Um... Sure!” She gave a crooked smile, still unsure of this.
The two settled on the idea of Finn teaching Rachel how to read and write. The first session had gone moderately well but the second one didn't last long. It was after school and Finn was teaching things very out of order. Instead of teaching her vocab he was just having her read a book with his help. Rachel had only gotten through one line when she stops. “Rachel?” He asks. “I need help with that one.” Finn groans, “Rachel it says ‘pity’” A ping a rage hit Rachel with his groan. “Don't get angry at me!” She raises her voice at him, “Sorry I'm illiterate, okay? Sorry, you think I'm stupid or something!” Finn just sits there not exactly having anything to say to that.
“I don't think you're stupid.” She rolls her eyes at his reply. “This isn't going to work.” She gets up and off the bed. “Rachel wait-” “No. You can't teach me.” Rachel says, “And you think I’m stupid. Like, if anyone one of us is stupid it's you, Finn.” His eyes widen, “Says the one who can't read or write!” He raises his voice at her. “Well, consider everything done then. This, us. Everything.” Finn feels regret instantly, “Rachel wait.” “No.” He just stares at everything he’s losing and feels anger wash over himself. “Fine then!” The football player storms out of the room leaving Rachel in frustration.
She realizes how impulsive she was being. Rachel had not been in a world without Finn for a long time. Resting back onto her bed she thinks about it. Maybe she was better without Finn? She just kept telling herself that. ‘He does think I’m dumb anyway.’ she thinks. Even with Rachel trying to distract herself she still cries lightly. He was everything to her. What was she going to do? What if he told the others? All she could think about were the bad things.
Eventually, the next day came around. Rachel drags her feet in each step. She was tired, upset, and honestly not ready to show her face around McKinley. What if Finn had told everyone? It didn't matter. She would still probably get slushied as usual. Rachel tried to wear something that wasn't her favourite outfit since she didn't want it to get ruined. She smiles, almost five feet away from her first-hour class, and then it happened.
A cold slushie right to her face.
Rachel just stood there, hands up in surrender to the cold. Dripping wet she ran to the girls bathroom. All she heard was laughing and the occasional, “ It's grape! Your favourite Rachel!” She never thought she’d think this but, high school ruined her favourite type of slushie for her. It was a sad thought.
Now in the girls bathroom, Rachel attempted to clean up. She needed a shower, not a sink. As she tried cleaning up, she heard a bump against one of the stall doors. “Uh, is someone in there?” Then it was quiet. Rachel walked over to the stall and knocked tentatively. “Hey, are you-” “Shut up Berry!” Before Rachel could finish her sentence another person silenced her. Rachel had recognized that voice! It was Santana Lopez. “Is that you Santana?” The brunette asks and there is another silence.
“Uh no. It's Brittnay.” Another voice came this time, it was Brittnay Pierce. Rachel knew for sure of course because the blonde had outed herself. “Okay well, are you okay in there?” Rachel calls as she presumes the two girls struggled. “Yeah duh, why wouldn't I be?” Brittnay answers through the door. “Just asking.” Rachel decided it would be better to stay out of Santana’s business considering she just got slushied.
After five minutes of washing Rachel finally left the bathroom, leaving Santana and Brittnay in a stall together. Brittnay smiles at the Latina, “That was close.” a small giggle erupts once Santana kisses her, “Our secret.” the two continue what they were doing.
Rachel was walking down the hall and back into her first hour. She smelled like grape. Opening the door she got multiple looks. Walking to her desk she heard lots of snarky comments about the smell, Rachel would handle it later.
Soon the class finished and it was time for the next one. It was then fourth hour at some point. Usually, Rachel loved her fourth hour since it was glee club but today would be… Interesting. On Rachel’s walk there she found Santana Lopez waiting for her at her locker. Rachel approaches carefully as if Santana was some sort of animal predator. “Can I help you Santana…?” The brunette asks quietly. “Cut the shit Rachel. I don't bite,” The Latina closes in on the girl, “Usually.” It sends a shiver down Rachel’s spine. She takes a step back.
"What do you want?” Rachel asks again. “About the bathroom thing. First off-” “Your secret's safe with me.” The brunette cut Santana off. The Cheerio just blinks, “Excuse me?” She cocks a brow. “I don't really want to know or care about what you were doing. It's not my business and I won't tell anyone.” Santana blinks again, not exactly knowing whether to thank Rachel or say something rude. “Thanks, gayberry.” The Latina then walked herself down the hall and into glee club leaving Rachel to think.
Soon after Rachel walked the same path into glee club. Walking in, she sees Finn sitting in his usual seat. She would normally sit next to him but now she can't. Rachel stood for a moment deciding where to sit. Mr.Shue gives her an odd look and she quickly decides to sit next to Santana and Brittnay. As Mr.Shue begins speaking nonsense about old albums, Santana whispers to Rachel. “Why the fuck are you sitting up here. Go sit with Pillsbury Dough Boy down there.” Rachel rolls her eyes. “I needed a change.” She says trying to be casual and all she gets is an eye roll from the Latina.
As the class comes to an end, Santana makes sure to slowly pack her things so she can leave after Rachel. Once the brunette started walking out Santana caught up to her. “Why didn't you sit next to Finn?” She asks, tone demanding. “Why do you care?” Rachel asks. She usually wouldn't stand up to her bully but considering her past two days? “I don't. I'm curious. Maybe you could read the definition of it in one of your books.” Santana smirks and walks away.
Why did she mention books and Finn in the same conversation? Why was she slushied this morning? All these questions swirled around in Rachel’s head. She tried to piece everything together but with no help, she’d never know what was happening. The brunette quickly caught up with Santana, “Why did you mention books and Finn in the same conversation?” The second the words passed through Rachel’s lips she regretted it. “Uh, cuz you're a fuckin’ nerd and you somehow are dating a football player?” Rachel just gives a small ‘oh’ and lets the Cheerio leave.
After Santana left Rachel let out a sigh of relief. At least Santana didn't know the two had broken up. At least, that's what Rachel thought. As Santana was walking to lunch that day, she started thinking about why Rachel and Finn had not sat together. “Maybe they got in a fight?” Brittnay asks, Santana nods, “That’s what I was thinking.” It was quiet. Santana was going through Rachel’s social media. Nothing had changed. “How come we're not sitting with Q today?” Brittnay asks, tilting her head. “Are we gonna get our lady kisses on?” Brittnay perks up at the thought. “No, I’m trying to figure out why they did not sit together. That's also why we're not sitting with Quinn.” Santana continues stalking Rachel’s page.
“I just don't want Quinn in this. She’d go bat shit ballistic if she found out Finn was single. She’d be all over him.” Santana’s tongue sticks out the side of her mouth when it hits her. She had an idea. Going to Finn’s page she stalks there for any clues. “But don't we want Quinn to be happy?” Brittnay asks head tilting to the side. “Yeah duh. I just- I don't know. I think it's weird that they didn't sit together.” She scrambles her words.
Meanwhile, Rachel was sitting with Kurt and Mercedes. She would tell them about Finn, but she couldn't trust them. Rachel couldn't trust anyone. It's not like she didn't want to trust them, it's just that even if she did tell them they’d ask why! It would all end in everyone knowing shes illiterate. Not exactly something Rachel wanted.
The rest of the day eventually passed and Rachel was back at her house. Logging onto her social media, she composes a post. Just another video of her singing. Her caption? Emojis. Just emojis. After clicking ‘post’ she sits back in her chair.
Santana sat at home as well. She heard a ding from her computer. Clicking into ‘notifications’ she saw that Rachel had posted. Santana wasn't stalking. She was investigating. That's what she told herself. Seeing Rachel post never had anything to do with school or drama so Santana quickly brushed it off. While she was typing out a rude comment for the girl to see later, she listened to the actual video of Rachel singing. The song she was singing was, ‘Miss Independent’ by Neyo. At first, Santana brushed off the lyrics of the song as cheesy but then she thought about it.
“Miss Independent…” Santana thought sitting back in her chair to watch Rachel sing. The lyrics didn't exactly support her claim, but the name did. Santana was claiming that Finn and Rachel broke up. “She’s independent because she broke up with Finn! Boom!” Santana high fives herself until realizing what she just did and cringes. “Oh Berry... I got you now.” Santana had a plan. Her next step was finding out how or why they broke up.
The next morning Rachel awoke and wondered what to put on. Hopefully, she didn't get slushied today. After her morning face routine and such, she ate, then left the house. Eventually, at school, she was on the path to her locker which was neatly near the glee club. Turning the last corner and walking down the hall, she sees Santana Lopez once again standing at her locker. “Here we go…” Rachel says under her breath, approaching the Latina.
“Can I help you with something, Santana?” She asks, hoping to keep a straight face. “Yeah, you can actually.” Santana grabs some papers out of her bag. “Explain this.” The first piece of paper had a screenshot of her latest video from social media. “I was singing. What more is there to it.” Rachel was slightly confused but thankful Santana wasn't on to her illiteracy. “You were singing ‘Miss Independent’ by Neyo,” She starts, “And the lyrics don't exactly make sense to me, but! The song's title. Miss independent. Come on Rachel.” Rachel just shrugs, “I'm a very independent person as you know. I like to work by myself.” Santana scoffs. “Rachel. You didn't sit next to Finn yesterday because you guys broke up. Miss independent. You are miss independent!” Santana rests a hand on her hip and awaits Rachel’s pleads.
“I-” Santana smirks at the girl. Rachel’s jaw had been dropped. “I have to go.” Rachel storms off. Santana catches up to the brunette, “Are you denying it or are you accepting the truth, Berry?!” “Neither. We are not broken up.” Rachel shoots her a glare. “Guess I’ll just ask Finn then.” Rachel stops dead in her tracks. Even with everyone walking in the hallways to Rachel it was as if it was just her and Santana.
Rachel stands as Santana comes up behind her, “Or you could tell me the truth.” Rachel is frozen solid as the Latina whispers in her ear. Finally, after a second, the brunette asks, “Is telling you the truth my only option?” Santana smirks, “I mean, you could do something else…” She husks. “I- Santana uh,” She shudders, turning red. “I’m kidding.” Santana pulls away.
“You tell me the truth and I’ll leave you alone. Until I need you again. If you don't then I’ll ask Finn.” Santana’s offer was on the table and Rachel needed to make a choice. The girl thinks about it. Can she trust Santana? That was her first question for herself. “Fine. Yes, we have broken up.” Rachel says, keeping her composure. “Thanks,” Santana starts walking off and Rachel almost smiles before she can hear Santana call out, “LOSER!” Close enough. It was still a ‘thank you’ so Rachel was pleased.
Santana walked away with a smile on her face. She had gotten what she wanted like always. Well, most of the time. Either way, once it was lunch, Santana found herself looking for Finn Hudson.
The Latina was holding hands with Brittnay when they approached the football player. “Finn. We need to talk.” He looks the two up and down, “Okay?” he questions his decision of talking to them.
“So, what's up?” Finn asks. “Well, I heard you and gayberry broke up?” Santana starts, “I was wondering why.” Santana wouldn't be surprised if Finn didn't tell her why. He was good at keeping most information private. “She…” He trails off as if he was thinking. “Come on Finn, I know somewhere in that pea brain of yours you can remember.” She taunts him. “She doesn't know how to read or write.” He sputters under the pressure, his own hand latches to his mouth.
Santana just stood there shocked. She starts walking away with Brittnay. “Wait, Santana! You can’t tell anyone!” That's exactly what Santana was going to do. She was going to make this spread like wildfire.
The rest of the day passed and Rachel was finally home. She goes upstairs into her bedroom and logs onto her computer. It all looked normal until a little ring went off. A box popped up at the bottom of the screen. Rachel didn't know exactly what is said but she clicked on it. It must have been a message. Rachel sighs. She wanted to read it and understand it but she just couldn't.
The next day Rachel was on her way to fourth hour when she was stopped by Santana. The Latina had grabbed her arm and dragged her into the girls bathroom. Rachel finally struggled out of her grip and panics, “What are you thinking! What are you doing!” Rachel didn't believe in keeping her voice down. “Shut up, Berry.” Santana starts, “Did you get my message last night?” She asks. Rachel blinks, “Of course.” She lied. Normally Santana would've believed her, but not after hearing that Rachel could not read or write. The Latina had no idea how Rachel even got into school!
“Then why are you freaking out? I told you to meet me here.” Santana says, placing a hand on her hip. “I uh, I forgot. I had lots of homework last night.” “About what? Your Jewish background?” Santana grins at her own joke. Rachel rolls her eyes at it. “No. Now please, remind me why we are having this intervention.” The brunette says.
Santana pulls out a book and hands it to Rachel, “Read something.” The brunette slightly panics but takes the book. Opening the front cover and turning to the first page then stops, “Why do I need to read?” She asks. “Because. I heard a rumor that you can't read.” Santana was honest with her and Rachel was honestly thankful for that, but still, it didn't change the look on her face. Santana was the second person to know, or at least, the second person than Rachel had known about.
“I- Who told you that?” She studders. “Your wonderful, caring, sweet, ex-boyfriend.” Santana’s smile was evil! Rachel almost let out a ‘grr’ at that moment, “Oh gosh… Santana, you can't tell anyone.” Rachel’s voice was very serious. “Uh-uh, Berry. I'm tellin’ the whole school.” “Santana. No. You can't.” Rachel says, looking into her eyes. “Well, why not Berry?” Santana had it all in her hands. She would finally ruin Rachel Berry. Not that she hadn't already. The Latina had been so proud of her dirty work. She didn't even really get help from anyone else. All these feelings were great until; “I’ll tell everyone about Brittnay if you do.” Slipped between Rachel Berry’s pink lips.
Santana almost gasps in a very real way. Rachel had her there and she knew it. “Dammit.” She curses to herself. Santana didn't know what else to say, “Fine. I won't tell anyone.” The Latina says softly. “One more thing, Santana.” Santana looks up, “You have to teach me.” Rachel says. “Teach you what?” The other girl cocks a brow. “Teach me to read and write.”