𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 | s. lopez + b. pierce

Pilot

"...And I will be right here with you the whole time," Rachel said as she dragged her little sister, Jayden, into McKinley High on the first day of school. "You're not going to be alone. Now, I have to go, but I'll see you at lunch."

Rachel gave Jayden a quick hug before skipping off down the hall.

"I'm alone!" the younger girl called after her, sighing and throwing her arms up. "Typical."

Jayden looked down at the schedule in her hands as she made her way down the hall to her locker. To say that she was nervous about starting high school would be the understatement of the century. There had been many a day when Rachel would come home with a slushie stained sweater, which only added to the fear the younger Berry felt walking into school that day.

Jayden was tiny. She was barely 5'0, so trying to navigate the crowded hallway was a nightmare. There were jocks the size of giants, cheerleaders with snobby attitudes, and band geeks with instrument cases that kept hitting her as she struggled to get past them.

She let out a quiet yelp as she tripped over her shoelaces and fell down onto the hard tile floor. Jayden winced in pain as she sat up, struggling to collect her things without someone stepping on her fingers.

"Here, let me help you," a cheerleader said as she bent down and helped the younger girl put her papers back into her folder. She stood up and extended a hand to her, which Jayden hesitantly took.

"Thanks," the brunette said as she looked into the blonde's piercing blue eyes.

"No problem," the cheerleader said as she handed Jayden her folder and offered her a small smile. "These hallways are hell, but you'll get the hang of it. I'm Brittany."

"Jayden."

"You're cute," Brittany smiled. "You're like a lost puppy trying to find its way home, you know?"

"Not really," Jayden said, shaking her head slightly.

"That's fine," the older girl chuckled. "You just have that freshman innocence. Like a puppy. They're cute just like you."

Am I getting flirted with by a sophomore?

High school is weird.

"I'll see you around, Jayden," Brittany said, sending the younger girl a smile before continuing down the hall.

The sound of the bell ringing brought Jayden back to reality. She looked down at her schedule and went in the direction of her first period class. When she got there, she took a seat next to a boy in a wheelchair that was sitting in the front. He gave her a small smile, and she smiled back.

"I'm Artie," the boy said.

"Jayden," the brunette said, shaking the hand he had extended to her.

The teacher came in to get class started. Jayden let out a quiet sigh of relief, her first day jitters slowly disappearing with each minute that passed. She spent the whole class getting to know Artie, and she found out that they both had a love for music.

By the time first period was over, the two new friends were exchanging numbers and already making plans to hang out soon.

Maybe high school won't be as bad as I thought.

****

"Do I have to?" Jayden asked as Rachel dragged her to the sign up sheet for Glee Club. "Why do I have to join with you?"

"Because, it would be so much fun to do this together," Rachel said as she signed her name and placed a gold star by it.

"Really, Rach?" the younger girl scoffed. "Is the star really necessary?"