𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 | s. lopez

The New Rachel

Juniper opened the door to Burt and Carole's house and headed upstairs to her room. The minute she opened her door, Bear jumped off her bed and ran over to her, barking, jumping, and wagging his tail as he welcomed her home.

"I missed you, Bear!" exclaimed Juniper, crouching down on the floor to hug her frenchie. She began to laugh as he attacked her face with kisses. "Oh, how I've missed your sweet puppy kisses."

"Juni?" asked a voice.

"Kurt!"

The younger girl jumped up from her spot on the floor and into the older boy's arms. He held her closely as they shared a long embrace.

"I missed you so much," Juniper whispered, shutting her eyes tight to fight back the tears.

"I missed you too," said Kurt as they pulled out of the hug. "Oh, hey, how was rehab?"

"It was awful. They made me have group therapy twice a day as well as individual therapy. And you know I hate talking about my feelings."

"Well, how do you feel now?"

"I'm just happy to be home," replied Juniper as she hugged her big brother again.

****

"Ms. Oakley, care to comment on your break-up with Santana Lopez?" asked Jacob Ben Israel, shoving a mic into Juniper's face.

"That's none of your fucking business," said the brunette as she continued down the hall.

"How was rehab?"

"Again, none of your business."

"Care to comment on-"

"Fuck off Jacob!" snapped Juniper, shoving the boy away from her before hurrying down the hall.

"Woah, Juniper, are you okay?" asked Sam.

"I'm fine."

Sam looked worriedly at the smaller girl as they entered the choir room.

"Juniper!" gasped Sugar.

"You're alive!" exclaimed Brittany as she ran up to her friend and picked her up, twirling her around. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too, Britt," replied Juniper, a smile spreading across her face at the warm welcome from the blonde.

Brittany set the younger girl down. Sugar walked up to them and gave Juniper a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay," she said.

"Yeah, me too," said the brunette as they pulled out of the hug and went to take a seat.

Juniper sat down in the back row next to Brittany and a few moments later Mr. Schue came into the room.

"Glee!" Mr. Schue cheered and everyone clapped. "We are coming off of a national championship but it's time to look forward. And thanks to Glee Club now being the coolest club in the school, this shouldn't be a problem. Yes, we've lost some big voices. But we still have some huge ones in here. And I promise to do everything to replace the ones that we lost. And on that note, I'd like to introduce you to our newest member. The MVP of last year's nationals, Wade 'Unique' Adams."

"That's a great haircut, Mercedes. I thought you graduated," said Brittany as Wade came into the room.

"I wanted to be somewhere different was celebrated," said Wade.

"We are so excited to have you," said Mr. Schue.

Joe, Sugar, Artie and Juniper clapped, but the others didn't.

"Guys, where's the love?" asked Mr. Schue.

"I think Wade is great, but the competition to be the new Rachel is already so intense," said Blaine. "The last thing we need is one more contender."

"Shut up, Blaine," scoffed Juniper. "Don't listen to him, Wade. He's just a hater."

"The new Rachel?" asked Mr. Schue.

"Every glee club needs a star performer," said Tina. "Rachel was that, and now that she's gone, many of us want the job."

"Okay, we don't win with stars. We win as a team. One that supports new members. Now I don't want to hear any more of this 'new Rachel' stuff, okay? Have a seat, Wade."

"Make no mistake," said Wade as he sat down next to Blaine. "Unique will be the new Rachel."

Tina and Brittany leaned forward.

"We decide this on our own then, Thunderdome style," said Blaine. "Five o'clock, in the auditorium."

****

Juniper sat in the audience next to Artie as the diva-off for the new Rachel began. It could have just been her imagination, but the brunette swore that Brittany was staring at her the entire time, singing the song to her.

****

At the end of the week, Burt and Juniper dropped Kurt off at the airport for his move to New York.

"Alright," said Burt. "As soon as you find a place to live I'll ship you the rest of your stuff. You've got enough cash from selling your car to get you through at least two weeks in a hotel. And the emergency credit card, which is only for what?"

"Emergencies," said Kurt. "This is silly. I don't have to be in New York to reapply for NYADA. So I can find a job that pays me the same as the Lima Bean but pay 10 times more in rent?"

"Because it's an adventure," said Burt. "Look, all the great artists need a little struggle in their lives."

"Yeah, Kurt," said Juniper. "Didn't you say that Julia Roberts sold shoes in New York before she made it?"

"Good enough for Pretty Woman, good enough for Kurt Hummel," added Burt.

"Are you scared?" asked the younger girl.

"Terrified," Kurt replied.

"New York is gonna be a breeze compared to Lima," said Burt. "Think about all the crap you've been putting up with the last couple years. You know the difference between this place and New York?"

"Decent bagels?"

"New York is filled with people like you. People who aren't afraid to be different. You're gonna feel at home there. If you're not scared, just means you're not sticking your neck out far enough."

"You truly are the world's greatest dad," said Kurt.

"I know. It's written on the coffee mug you got me for Father's Day. Now get out of here. You're gonna miss your flight."

Kurt unbuckled his seat and gave Burt a hug. "I'm gonna miss you, Dad."

"You can always come back," he replied. "But you won't," he added under his breath as Kurt got out of the car.

Juniper stepped out of the car and Kurt pulled her into a hug.

"I'm gonna miss you so much, Kurt," said Juniper.

"I'm gonna miss you too, Juni," said Kurt. "I love you so much."

"I love you too."

Kurt gently wiped a tear off of Juniper's cheek and gave her a small smile before she got back into the car, taking the shotgun seat.

"I love you guys," said Kurt.

"I love you too, Kurt," said Burt.

The brunette boy started to walk away. Just as he was reaching the door, he turned to look back. He smiled and waved goodbye.