Disclaimer: If I owned Glee, I would have used it to make Jon Groff my best friend. My best friends name is currently Taylor. Not Jon. Bottom line- I don't own Glee.
Alright! So, I've actually had this written for awhile, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to publish it yet! But, lately it won't leave me alone, so I've decided to put it up!
I promise that I'll still be updating Going Home, so to those readers do not panic:)
Basically, in this story Rachel is living her normal life in Lima just like in the show except her and Finn are not currently dating. Meanwhile, Jesse St. James is Hollywoods latest and greatest "it boy."
This is St. Berry.
Without further ado, I give you the first chapter of Reaching Potential.
Rachel walked into the choir room to see the entire female portion of the glee club (and Kurt) circled around Quinn who was holding the latest addition of People in her hands. They were pointing at areas on the page and squealing and giggling. The boys were sitting awkwardly on the other side of the room waiting for Mr. Shue.
"He has got to be the hottest male in Hollywood," Quinn sighed.
"Girl," Mercedes corrected, "he's got to be the hottest male on the planet."
There was a small chorus of agreement from the rest of the female members.
"Who are you talking about?" Rachel asked while taking a seat with the girls.
"Jesse St. James," Santana answered. "Who else would we be talking about?"
"Jesse St. James?" Rachel questioned.
"Please don't tell me that you don't know who he is," Quinn sighed.
"No," Rachel frowned. "I know who he is. And while he is attractive, I don't think that he lives up to his full acting potential, so I hold a small lack of respect for him on a professional level."
"Sometimes, I try to make out with the picture of him I have in my bathroom," Brittany remarked. There was a slightly awkward silence before Tina spoke.
"I think that he's a great actor."
"Me too," Kurt nodded. "He takes himself seriously enough to not do those stupid teen romantic comedies. He's actually a serious actor."
"And he's only eighteen. That's only a year older than us," Tina added.
"Not to mention he grew up in Akron. Lord knows he didn't learn to harness that talent through the local theater program, so it has to be legit talent," Kurt finished.
"Apparently he's headed to New York to film a new movie! It should be released by fall of next year."
Before they could start obsessing over that, Mr. Shuester finally entered the room.
"Well, guys, it's been an amazing year! And even though we lost Regionals to Vocal Adrenaline, I am so proud of every single one of you. So, you should all take the summer off. Do whatever you want to, but don't forget that next year is going to be our year! Since it's the last day of school, I thought you could all just spend the period doing whatever you want. So, enjoy."
Obviously, the rest of the period was full of Jesse-sighing, and occasional group singing.
Two Weeks Later
As Rachel stepped out of the airport, she took a deep breath of the air she would be breathing for the next month. She was so excited that her father's had agreed to let her live with her aunt, who had recently moved to Manhattan, for a month.
"Rachel!" she heard the familiar voice call and she turned to face her aunt.
"Aunt Kelsi!" Rachel grinned. She ran into the woman's arms, and they hugged tightly.
Rachel's aunt had always been like a mother to her. She was able to practically share everything with her, and she was ecstatic when she had offered to let her move in with her for part of the summer. Rachel liked to think that her and Kelsi had a lot in common despite the fact that they looked nothing alike. Kelsi was a tall, slender blonde which was in strong contrast to Rachel's petite figure, and brunette waves.
"How many times have I told you to just call me Kelsi. I'm so glad you're hear! This is going to be an amazing summer! I heard that Jesse St. James is here shooting his latest movie, so maybe we'll run into him!"
Rachel just smiled brightly and followed Kelsi to the taxi she had waiting.
Rachel spent the next week getting used to the ways of New York. She learned that you had to walk fast, talk fast, order fast, and do pretty much everything else at an increased speed. So far, Kelsi had taken her to see three Broadway musicals (Wicked; Promises, Promises; and West Side Story). All of which Rachel had found completely thrilling. They completely solidified what she wanted to do with her life, and she couldn't wait until she could get started on her dream.
Since Kelsi had to work during the day, Rachel had been finding ways to keep herself entertained. She had spent the past days shopping on Fifth, walking through Central Park, and checking out Times Square. Today, though, she had found herself wandering into a store called the Drama Book Shop. It was full of play materials, and Rachel was extremely happy that she had stumbled upon it. She was flipping through the book of Funny Girl when she felt someone behind her.
"Barbara Streisand," the voice commented. "One of my favorites."
Rachel turned to see who was addressing her and took in a deep breath. Even with the backwards baseball cap and Ray Bans, she recognized the boy standing behind her.
"You're Jesse St. James," she managed to deliver the sentence with a small air of nonchalance.
"I am," he nodded. He was surprised that she hadn't tried to jump him. Surprised, but pleased. He had honestly only spoked because he was surprised to see a girl her age that was spending her summer reading the text to, what was in his opinion, one of the best Broadway musicals of all time. "I've got to say that I'm impressed. You don't find very many people our age who would spend their free time in a place like this."
"I'd like to think I'm not most people our age. Though, I'm a year younger than you." Rachel was proud of herself for keeping so calm. She could, though, admit to herself that he was much more handsome in person.
"It's a sad thing really," Jesse mused. "I'd hate to think that priceless play scripts like the one you're holding could possibly be forgotten within a generation."
"I couldn't agree more," Rachel smiled in approval.
"Listen," Jesse whispered, "I'm here shooting a movie for the summer, and I'm on break for the day because they're shooting the scenes that I'm not in. I don't really know my way around here, so maybe you'd like to show me the town?"
Truthfully, Jesse wasn't sure what made him ask her that. He wasn't lying when he said he didn't really know his way around New York, but he could always hire a tour guide. Maybe it was because she seemed to be cultured in the arts, or maybe it was just because she was attractive and hadn't attacked him when she recognized him. Either way, he found himself wanting to spend more time with her.
"Actually," Rachel replied somewhat reluctantly, "I'm not from around here either. I'm just staying with my aunt for a month."
"Oh," Jesse frowned slightly. He really hadn't expected him to turn him down. "Well then we could be lost together."
"Meaning?" Rachel asked.
"While I don't particularly know the ins and outs of this town, I do know that there's practically a Starbucks on every corner. What do you say to a cup of coffee?"
"I promised my aunt I wouldn't talk to strangers," Rachel teased.
"I'm sure she wouldn't mind you making an exception."
Rachel was slightly worried about Jesse being recognized as they wandered into the first Starbucks they came across. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the current barista was a man who most likely aged in his late thirties to early forties and not a teenaged girl. Jesse lead Rachel up to the counter and gestured for her to place her order. After she was finished she took out her wallet to pay, but Jesse simply waved her hand away before ordering his own coffee and paying for both. When the barista asked their names Jesse answered swiftly with Nick, and Rachel caught on quickly as she replied with Fanny.
Jesse then took her over to a table that was about as secluded as you can get in New York, and pulled her chair out for her to sit.
"Such a gentleman," Rachel remarked with only a slight bit of sarcasm.
"I'd like to think that I'm keeping some form of chivalry alive," Jesse said back, completely unfazed. Before Rachel could retort, their 'names' were called, and Jesse stood to retrieve them. When he returned he handed her her cup and smiled.
"I have to say," Jesse smiled, "I'm impressed you picked up on the reference so quickly."
"I'm surprised you thought to use those names."
"I thought they seemed appropriate given how we met. I should assure you, though, that I in no ways have a gambling problem."
"Good to know," Rachel nodded.
Jesse smirked. "So now that you know something about me, I should get to know something about you."
"I hate when people wear sunglasses indoors," Rachel said, and instantly Jesse pulled his off. Rachel took a moment to notice how pretty his blueish-gray eyes were.
"Sorry," he apologized. "It's a force of habit."
"Understandable."
"Now give me a real answer," Jesse pressed.
"Well, my name is Rachel Barbara Berry. Rachel because my dads were huge Friends fans, Barbara like Streisand, and Berry – well, it's my last name."
"You were given quite a big name to live up to," Jesse smiled.
"I intend to do so," Rachel assured.
"Meaning?"
"I'm going to be a star someday."
"Really?" Jesse asked with a quirk of his brow.
"Of course," Rachel answered. "I'm going to play three roles on Broadway. Laurey in Oklahoma, Evita, and Funny Girl."
"You seemed to have put a lot of thought into this."
"It's been my dream ever since I can remember. I've never wanted anything else.
"Well then I say you get out there and go for it."
"That's my plan."
And thus began a great friendship.
Thoughts? Reviews?
