Post Bad Reputation. When Jesse leaves Rachel for the Run Joey Run music video, what can she do to show him she really didn't mean any harm to anyone or hurt to him? And how can she win Finn's friendship back, as well as gaining a new one? StBerry fic.
"Do me a favor; if we end up next to each other on the barre at ballet club this week, just do your arabesques and piques in silence. Don't talk to me."
Rachel felt the back of her eyes get hot and tears began to gather on her lids but she held them in strongly as she watched Jesse walk around and away from her. When she knew he was around the corner, she let out a shaky breath and leaned against her locker, letting her head clang against the metal. She let her eyes close and she bit her bottom lip, swallowing as she tried to get rid of the lump that was arising in her throat. It felt like everything was slipping away from her. Sure, she'd had a boyfriend before, but it was Finn and they had had… moments… before they actually got together; breaking up with him wasn't as hard as she thought it was going to be. But Jesse?
He was her first real boyfriend. Someone who shared the same interests and hobbies at her and someone who didn't stare at her boobs or ass all the time. Jesse liked theater as much as she did and he did ballet, like she does, he sings, dances. Jesse was Rachel's other half. A life partner. A… A… soul mate.
So, as she really began to taking in the vision of him walking away from her and as her heart began to sink in her chest, she didn't pay attention to anything around her, not the feet stomping on the tile floor, the people chattering to each other, the bell ringing throughout the school. The hallway began to get quieter as people shuffled quickly to their classes. Rachel stayed where she was, sinking down to the floor. She hugged her knees to her chest, digging her nails into her elbows. She felt the hot tears drift down her cheeks and drip off her chin, landing on the owl sweater she was sporting for the day.
She didn't know how much time had passed, but soon she heard the clicking of high heels down the school hallway and they stopped right in front of her. "Rachel?" She looked up to see Ms. Pillsbury standing in front of her, wearing a sea green shirt and a white pencil skirt. Her teal high heels, which had been recently strutting down the hallway, stopped and were now burring in Rachel's vision.
"Are you okay?" she said, a concerned look on her face.
Rachel shook her head. "Do I look like I'm okay?" she snapped, looking at herself in the process. "I'm sitting here, in the middle of the school hallway, crying. How could someone not be okay?"
She wiped her nose and Ms. Pillsbury nodded, reaching into her pocket to get a tissue. Instead of handing it to Rachel, she lined her hand with it and held her arms out to Rachel. "Come on," she said quietly, pulling Rachel to her feet. "Let's go have a chat in my office."
Rachel followed the guidance counselor down the halls. She wanted to hit her for how briskly she was walking, like everything in the world was wonderful and beautiful. News flash, Ms. Pillsbury, Rachel thought in her mind. Everything is not wonderful and beautiful.
She pushed the big glass door to her office open and stepped inside, holding it open wide for Rachel before going to her perfectly straightened and organized desk and sitting down. Rachel stayed where she was, in the doorway, hugging her arms tightly to her body. "Why don't you sit down?" Ms. Pillsbury said, pointing to two of the empty chairs in front of her desk.
Slowly, Rachel moved across the room, sliding into one of the surprisingly comfortable arm chairs. She was sniffling and wiping her nose continuously so Ms. Pillsbury picked up a tissue box and held it out to her. Rachel took a few tissues, blowing her nose and dabbing at her eyes. "Why don't you tell me what's wrong?"
Rachel looked at the red head in front of her, seeing her wide eyes and helpful face made her feel even more upset; vulnerable and weak. "Well, I was do-o-o-oing an ass-s-signment for glee; we had to pick a song with a bad reputation. I did R-r-r-u-un Jo-o-oey, Ru-u-u-n-n, and I used Finn, Noah and Jesse in my video. Th-th-they all got upset with me and… And…"
Rachel began to blubber, mumbling nonsense words and weeping. She covered her face with her hands and cried into them, not paying attention to Ms. Pillsbury, who was moving her hand in different positions on the lower half of her face, not sure what to do to comfort the girl. "Rachel, what happened?" The brunette shook her head, unable to talk about it.
There was a long moment of Rachel sobbing into her hands, her shoulders jerking up and down, her whole body shaking from her tears. Ms. Pillsbury just sat there, watching the small girl cry out her tears, getting rid of all the sadness she could. Her hands were folded neatly on her desk and she pushed the tissue box toward Rachel just in case she needed more. She didn't reach for the tissues, she didn't move from her position at all. She just kept her face covered by her hands and didn't look up once for twenty whole minutes.
"Rachel, would you like me to call your parents and have one of them pick you up?" She shook her head, bringing her face away and revealing her face. Her nose was red and so were her eyes. "Well… Why don't you tell me what happened? From the very beginning."
My first St Berry fic. I think it'll go well. Please review and let me know! Thanks!