Disclaimer: Neither Rachel Berry or Hunter Clarington belong to me.

Meet Cutes Are Better The Second Time

Chapter 1: Familiar Scenes

Hunter stepped into the music store with a coffee in hand.

It wasn't his first choice of hang out spot, but it beat hanging around the Lima Bean as Sebastian tried to flirt his way in-between Kurt and Blaine. He didn't really understand why his friend was so interested in the Warblers former golden boy, quite frankly he thought Blaine sounded pretty bland, but he had learned not to question it.

He walked between the shelves, looking for anything interesting.

Sectionals were coming up. Hunter didn't think their competition would actually be any competition, it never hurt to go above and beyond.

He was looking at a collection of Broadway numbers and wondering if the Warblers could actually pull one off, when the bell above the store's door went off.

"Hey Rachel!" the cashier called out. "Looking for something for your glee?"

Hunter's eyes slid towards the doorway, intrigued.

If she belonged to a glee club, it was possible they would go against each other at some point.

The girl standing in the doorway was small, but gorgeous. She had brown hair which seemed to cascade over her shoulders and big doe brown eyes. Her lips were pale pink and the bite of the cold outside had turned her cheeks a matching color.

"In a way, yes," she answered. Her voice reminded Hunter of music even though she was only speaking.

"Ah...Good luck!"

"Thank you."

Hunter watched as she walked across the room. His eyes swept over her body, taking in legs that seemed too long to belong on a girl that short.

Reaching the rows of books on the other side of the room, she begun flipping through them with small fingers.

He watched her for another moment before making a decision.

He shoved the book in his hands back onto the shelf before walking towards her.

By the time he reached her, she was leaning against the counter while flipping through the pages of a book.

He leaned against the other side. He put on his most charming smile before plucking the book from her fingers. "John Mayer? Nice choice. Although, I can't help but thinking a girl as pretty as you probably doesn't have the right kind of tone to sing one of his songs."

He watched the expressions flicker across her face. First surprise, then a flash of pain that had him wondering, before it settled on suspicion.

"It's not for me," she said at last. Her arms crossed over her chest.

"Boyfriend?" he questioned. He certainly wouldn't have been surprised to find out she was taken. She was absolutely beautiful.

"I don't have one. It's for a friend of mine."

The corners of his smile curled a little higher.

"I'm glad," he admitted. "You having a boyfriend would have put a damper on my plans."

Her eye brow arched, something steely and defensive settled in her eyes. "What plan would that be?"

"My plan to ask you out for coffee." He held the cup in his hands up. "I could use a refill. I'd be a lot happier with venturing back into the fall air if I could get to know a pretty girl on the way."

Though her arms were still crossed, some of the tension in her seemed to melt at his words. "I just got here. Why would I want to leave just to get to know a strange boy?"

"Because I'll pay for whatever drink you want?" Hunter suggested. "And I'll bring you back afterwards if you'd like."

She seemed to turn his words over in her head.

At last, she said, "I don't know your name."

"Hunter," he answered. He set the John Mayer song book back onto the counter between them and stuck his hand out. "Hunter Clarington."

She stared at his hand for a moment. Then her arms dropped from her chest and she took his hand. Her palm was soft against his. "Rachel Berry. It's a pleasure to meet you, Hunter."

"The pleasure is all mine," he returned. When she dropped his hand, he tilted his head towards the door, "So, coffee?"

Rachel examined him for another moment before giving a small nod of her head. She snatched the book from the counter and tucked it back into it's place before coming around to his side of the counter.

If his grin got even wider, and maybe a touch more genuine, Hunter didn't notice.

He didn't really know anything about her, aside from the fact that she was absolutely gorgeous and a singer, but something in his gut was telling him that this was going to be good.

E/n: First things first! This is a canon au taking place in season three! Hunter transfers a year earlier and Rachel and Finn never got back together after the end of season two! She's made up with Jesse, but ultimately decided she couldn't be in a relationship with him again and he's no longer in the picture either.

Now that you know that, I'm just going to say that I have no idea where this fic is going. I just really liked the idea of Hunter and Rachel. They're both people who would do anything to win - ie: crack houses and steroids - and who have a tendency to maybe take things too seriously. And I liked the idea of them meeting this way since I think they're relationship would have a lot of parallels to Jesse and Rachel that would make Rachel a bit weary going into it. They're similar people - something Rachel isn't used to - and from competing show choirs. Even with this being after season two and their apologies, I think Rachel would still be leery of putting herself in a "Jesse" situation again.