Summary: Rachel mouths off during glee practice, when the Cheerios claim to be too exhausted from Cheerios practice to do anything in glee. Rachel thinks they're lazy and it can't be hard to handle both. The Cheerios plan to prove her wrong.

This is a completely AU story. No Finchel, possible FaBerry and tons of Unholy Trinity fun with Rachel. Enjoy and please R&R.

**A/N**

I wrote this story a while ago and I intended to do a sequel, but I lost the notes I made for it, so now I'm revisiting it and making corrections in preparation for rewriting the sequel I had planned.

Disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah…I don't own Glee, the characters or anything associated with either…blah, blah, blah…belongs to Ryan Murphy and Fox…blah, blah….blah, blah.

Chapter 1: Big Talker

"Hey Rachel."

Bad things come in threes. That's all Rachel could think, when three of the Cheerios approached her after glee practice. Quinn, who looked better than she did pre babygate, approached her flanked by Santana and Brittany.

"Hello guys. Glee practice went well today, don't you think? Santana you should really try for a solo. I can find some songs that would be great for your range." She tried not to let her nervousness show, but the three taller girls were intimidating in their uniforms just staring and smiling. It was really starting to freak her out. Actually she was beyond freaking out, especially when Santana winked at her.

"Quiet Manhands." Okay, so apparently Quinn was the spokesperson for today. The command lacked all of the bite and superiority of last year and was even accompanied by a small smile, devious as that smile appeared to be. "I've got a challenge for you."

Rachel was mentally dialing her therapist and trying to remember if she updated her memoirs and Living Will this month, because she just knew this wasn't going to end well.

"A challenge?" She was quite dismayed to hear to hear a noticeable squeak in her voice. She tried to clear her throat and make her voice sound stronger, but she still felt shaky. "What kind of challenge?"

"We're going to make you regret your comment from earlier."

Rachel physically sighed in relief. "You have got to be kidding me. That's what this was about." She already felt like she was on more sure footing.

Flashback: 30 Minutes Ago

Rachel sat in the front row and watched as Mr. Schue discussed choreography for a new song. He was trying to get everyone to his level of enthusiasm, but it just wasn't working.

"Sorry Mr. Schue, but we're going to have to sit this one out. Ms. Sylvester had us working like really hard yesterday. I'm still sore."

Rachel rolled her eyes and turned to face the Santana, the Cheerio who had spoken. "Oh please. How hard can it be. Clap, clap, stomp. Clap, clap, stomp. Clap, clap, hip shake, shimmy, clap, clap, stomp, stomp." She rested the back of her hand against her forehead and acted faint. "Gosh, I'm so exhausted."

Santana glared at her as Quinn chimed in. "Have you met Sue Sylvester? You know it's much harder than that. A showtune I can sing in my sleep, but one of Sue Sylvester's death defying routines takes skill."

"Need I remind you that I won talent shows before I could walk or talk."

"They give awards for not being able to walk or talk? Like for just laying there? Santana can we join a talent show like that. If Rachel can win it we could be like really good."

"I'll volunteer to help you practice for that one Britt."

Brittany smiled and bounced in her seat happily and clapped, while Rachel and the other two Cheerios glared at Puck for his remark and rolled their eyes. "This isn't a stupid pageant Treasure Trail. You couldn't last five seconds as a Cheerio."

"As if you could last a nano-second on stage. Maybe I'm just good at multi-tasking, but I'm sure it can't be that hard to handle shaking pom-poms and performing for glee. When I'm a star I'll have to deal with being on stage, doing films as well as media interviews. High school is just practice."

Before any of the Cheerios could retort, Mr. Schue stepped into the argument. "Enough! Quinn, Britt and Santana, sit this out and watch. Maybe by watching us run through it, when you're feeling better you can step right in. Everyone else let's try to run through this a couple of times."

Quinn and her fellow Cheerios smiled in satisfaction while Rachel rolled her eyes and got up with a toss of her hair. The rest of the class was spent with the class running through the routine while the Cheerios smirked and looked on. When the bell rang, Rachel was more than ready to head home – until she found her way blocked by three Cheerios staring her down.

Present:

"You talked a big game Berry. Now it's time to put your money where your mouth is."

"Excuse me?"

The Cheerios couldn't look more mischievous. "Tomorrow we're going to arrange for you to try out for the Cheerios. Let's see how well you can really handle it."

Rachel's eyes widened as the reason for the Cheerio's approaching her became clear.