Written quickly for the St. Berry Change the World challenge. Thank you to all who are participating. Everyone should join in the fun!
Rachel is eleven, Jesse is on the cusp of thirteen.
Her dad gives her one of his infamous speeches that morning, stressing the importance of making friends, and schooling her on how to make a good first impression on her counselors and peers.
Her daddy rolls his eyes so that she can see through the rearview mirror, telling her that all she has to do is have fun and get messy. She could tell from the joking way he said 'get messy' (she's eleven and already carries around her own Tide-to-go pen), that all he really wanted her to do was relax and enjoy herself. Easier said than done.
They had been talking about this day camp for months. After being homeschooled her entire life, come fall, Rachel Berry would be attending 'normal' middle school for the first time ever. Westwood summer camp was supposed to be a test-run, a way to get used to being around kids her own age everyday, so that 'normal' won't seem so foreign to her when 'normal' becomes her life.
Rachel also recognizes this for what it is, even if her dads never say the words out loud. For eleven years they have sheltered her from the homophobic, small-town world of Lima, Ohio. Now she has to go be the kid of two gay dads where, unlike the loving environment of her home, being the kid of two gay dads is notable and different, not something to be treasured and cherished.
For the first time ever, she is completely on her own.
The money her dads have spent on acting classes have not been for naught, and she walks in with her head held high; North Face backpack strung across her shoulders, and a plate of 'Hello' cookies so heavy it has to be held with both hands.
Only her counselor, an 18-year-old skinny kid named Will, thanks her. The rest of the kids inhale the cookies but laugh at her. What sort of baby brings cookies her parents baked to the first day of summer camp? It doesn't even help when she tells them that she baked them herself, and that they're vegan, and as healthy as they are delicious.
She regroups and tries to make amends. She attempts to engage the three other girls in the group, Brittany, Quinn, and Santana, in conversation, but they are already best friends for life, and not looking for additional members. The boys are no better. She knows right off the bat that Kurt is gay, but he dismisses her quickly and rudely when she tells him that her dads are gay too, comments on his bravery, and asks how long he's been out. (In her defense, he's wearing a white t-shirt with a sparkly, bejeweled collar, so there really is no doubt.) Noah is a kid she's seen before at temple, but here he's Puck, has a freshly-shaved Mohawk, and is doing a spot on interpretation of the Fonz from Happy Days, a show she and her dads love and Tivo often.
Finn is Noah's (he will never be Puck to her) best friend. He's tall and super cute with a gorgeous dimple. She thinks she saw him smile at her as he attempted to stuff three of her cookies in his mouth at the same time. She tells him, quite conversationally, that he looks like a younger version of one of her favorite Broadway actors because, well, he sort of does. Finn looks confounded when he mumbles a thank-you, but Quinn sends her such a withering look that Rachel is flabbergasted, and it really does take a lot to shut her up.
The only person left is a boy dressed all in black (it's eighty degrees outside!) who has his head down, his arms crossed, earphones in, and a well-practiced scowl on his face. Rachel offers him a cookie, but he pointedly turns up the volume on his IPod and ignores her.
Well, then.
By lunchtime, she's looking for a quiet place to hide from them all. She can pretend everything is fine when they're doing their daily scheduled activities: soccer, archery, creative writing, swimming, etc. where they're forced to partner with her and maybe even talk to her, but she's smart enough to realize that none of them will willingly be her friend. Even though she normally gets along better with adults, she senses that Will isn't crazy about her either, and she doesn't want to interrupt him as he tries to put the moves on the redhead counselor of the 13-15 age group, Emma.
The camp is held on the grounds of the Lima high school, but instead of heading to the stands where everyone sits eating lunch, she sneaks into a dark supply closet to eat the salad she brought with her in peace. She's waiting by the door for her eyes to adjust to the darkness when she hears a shrill note from what sounds like an old, out-of-tune piano pierce the air.
"I carry a rape whistle!" she warns, her voice going too high on the last word and revealing her fear.
He flips on the light switch over by the piano, and he's leaning against the wall across the room, smirking at her – his black attire the perfect mask in the dark.
"Scaredy cat," he mocks, folding his arms for emphasis.
"I didn't think anyone was here," Rachel responds, absorbing his taunt. "I'll leave you alone."
She turns to leave, but his random question stops her. "So you're a Beatles fan?"
She whips around, trying to determine what malevolent purpose his question hides. Nothing is readily apparent, so she tries to meet his eyes, but he seems to be looking at her shirt.
Oh, right. Strawberry Fields.
She looks down and tugs on the red t-shirt to cover her embarrassment at her earlier thoughts. "It's my daddy's," she explains. "I've always liked it, and, well, I don't own that many t-shirts. He thought it was camp appropriate."
He doesn't respond, and she can't tell if their conversation is over, so she loiters over by the door and watches him sit down at the piano, where he starts tapping out the melody to Strawberry Fields Forever.
He starts to sing softly, and she's immediately captivated. He has an amazing voice, and before she knows it, she's walking towards the piano and joining in on the only part of the song she knows: "Strawberry Fields forever."
He laughs and stops playing, fingers brushing over the keys. "Is that the only line you know?"
She nods meekly, suddenly sad that their connection is broken, and that he's about to join the list of people that can't stand to talk to her.
"Play something else," she tells him determinedly. "I'm going to be on Broadway some day, and this is good practice. I promise that I'll know the next song you play."
She crosses her fingers behind her back that she will.
He looks at her, and shakes his head, but obediently starts to play the notes to what she instantly recognizes as Don't Cry for me Argentina. Seriously? He could have made it hard.
Her performance is flawless, if she does say so herself, and she can tell the second he becomes invested too, because the passion with which he starts to play is unmistakable.
She finishes the song and is breathing hard from the exertion, so it takes her a while to realize that he is staring at her.
"Now a duet," he commands.
They discuss the duet, but never actually sing one because she's too intent on learning all about him. His name is Jesse and he'll be 13 next month. The camp directors refused to put him in the 13-15 age group because it was too full, so he "got stuck" in the younger group. He's staying with his uncle in Lima for the summer since his parents are on vacation, but he lives in Akron during the school year.
He's destined for Broadway too, and he's already part of the show choir at his middle school. In short, they're sort of made to know one another.
"I hate it here too," she confesses, as she offers him a segment of the tangerine she's brought.
They're sitting at the piano bench together, and he plays a scale before responding. "You're better than all of them," he tells her quietly. "You, me, Broadway, it's an inevitability. They wouldn't understand. They're not insanely talented people like us."
Rachel smiles, because, for the first time, she feels that someone else gets it.
"I'm so excited about the musical," Rachel states enthusiastically. "It's the only part of this camp I was actually looking forward to. We're a shoe in for the leads. We'll practice everyday."
Jesse grins back at her. "Same time, same place tomorrow?"
Rachel nods, packing up her lunch bag and heading out to where she can hear the counselors calling.
She gets to the door and turns around abruptly. "Jesse?" He's still playing scales, but he looks up. "Are we friends?"
He seems to mull it over, and Rachel holds her breath. It's not exactly a normal question.
"Sure," he says after a while, giving her his usual smile. She's expecting more, but that's all she gets. It doesn't stop her from being the happiest she's been all day.
II.
"Do you think that Quinn Fabray is pretty?"
Jesse sputters, and misses a note in I Can Hear the Bells. Rachel, on the other hand, is sitting with her legs up, not paying attention to the music, and is seemingly lost in her thoughts.
He doesn't answer her, so she prompts him further. "Come on Jesse. We're friends. You can be honest."
"I think she's conventionally pretty," he words carefully.
"That's just a nice way of saying yes," Rachel points out.
Jesse shrugs. "Can we get back to the song?"
Rachel pretends she hasn't heard him. "Her mother lets her wear a two-piece. My dads will only let me wear my old blue Speedo," she continues conversationally. "They think that eleven is too young to wear a bikini."
"Uh huh."
Rachel stands to get his attention, lifting her t-shirt in the process to reveal her tummy. "I don't see what the big deal is, why all the boys go crazy over her. She wears a padded bra and it's not like I don't have what she has. Right, Jesse?"
Jesse's eyes flit over her exposed stomach before looking back at her. "We should practice," he warns.
She drops her shirt and sighs loudly because he refuses to take her on.
"I like Finn," she whispers, scoffing her shoe against the concrete tile. "I know it's crazy because he hardly talks to me, but… I can't help it. I do… and… he only has eyes for her."
Rachel says the last part with a roll of her eyes, but she is quickly brought out of her thoughts by Jesse slamming the cover of the piano down and gathering up his sheet music to leave.
"Where are you going?" Rachel demands, watching his back as he walks out. "We haven't even made it through one song!"
"Go tell it to someone who cares," he snaps. "Maybe Finn will finally give you the time of day."
III.
It only takes her about a day to realize how lonely she is without him.
It's Friday, which means that they have a free social hour before their parents come to pick them up. When she finally gets up the nerve to approach him, he's stretched out under a tree talking to some girl, his finger keeping his place in an open novel.
Jesse and the girl, Tina, she suddenly remembers, are laughing about something when Rachel plops down next to him. Things immediately get quiet and awkward, and Tina gets up to leave, mumbling something about her mom coming early.
"Who is she?" Rachel asks. She had planned to start with an apology, but, for some reason, this feels like the most important thing to clear up.
"Tina. She's one of the 13-year-olds," he tells her. "She's trying out for the musical too, and she knows that I play."
"So you're helping her?" Rachel accuses. "I thought we were doing this together."
"You don't seem very interested," he states plainly. "All you want to talk about is Finn."
Rachel swallows, and she remembers all that she had meant to say to him. "I'm sorry. I've never had a friend before and I keep forgetting that you're a guy. If I promise not to talk about Finn, can we just go back to the way things were?"
Jesse looks away from her, lets the book he's been keeping open close. "You're so blind, Rachel."
"I know," she admits quietly. "I know he doesn't feel the same way."
"You still don't get it," Jesse states, making a fist against the grass. "I..." He sighs. "Nevermind."
"What?"
He shakes his head. "Just let it go."
"I'm better than her," Rachel promises. "I'm definitely going to be the lead."
Jesse cracks a small smile. "I know you are."
IV.
Before they know it, auditions for the musical are upon them, and Jesse spends all his free afternoons at Rachel's house so they can practice on her dads' piano. Emma's directing, and it's a modern day interpretation of Beauty and the Beast. It's perfect: it's as if the two leads were written for them.
The day of the audition, Will pulls Jesse aside. "We need you to play piano for the show. You could be like the musical director," he tells Jesse, obviously using terms he's unfamiliar with.
"I'm going to be the Beast," Jesse responds assuredly. "Can't you get someone else to play?"
Will looks hesitant. "You're the only kid that's good enough. Plus, between you and me, Emma wants Finn to be the Beast. I convinced him to audition and she thinks that he'll make a dashing prince in the end."
"What's going on?" Rachel asks as she walks up to the two boys, sensing the displeasure that is emanating from Jesse.
"I'm trying to convince Jesse to be the show's musical director since he's a piano extraordinaire," Will tells her.
Rachel opens her mouth to support her friend, but Will beats her to the punch. "That would leave Finn to be your prince."
In all honesty, Jesse knows that Rachel tries to mask her glee at the thought of Finn playing opposite her and being her first kiss ever, but he catches the blush on her cheeks, and the guilty look she shoots him when she's left unable to say anything in his defense.
Jesse looks down, knowing that he has lost. "Fine," he tells both of them, his mouth feeling dry. "I'll play. I'll do whatever you want me to do."
He can't bear to look at Rachel anymore, so he leaves the room.
When they post the cast list early the next morning, he wonders if the fact that she got her dream role and her dream guy is worth the loss of their friendship.
It sucks, but the cost of his dream role is worth her happiness to him; ten times over.
V.
Still, it doesn't mean he has to talk to her. He shrugs off all her attempts at reinstating their friendship, and focuses on being the best musical director he can possibly be. (He hears the word prodigy thrown around a few times and he feels a sense of smug satisfaction.)
Even though he never tells her, he knows she's working her butt off. It just sucks that she doesn't have a more dedicated costar.
Her loss.
Will is helping Emma with the musical to get into her pants, and he schedules a rehearsal for Jesse, Rachel, and Finn so that Finn can practice one of his main songs. He's been missing practice lately, and it's pretty obvious he needs the most work.
Rachel shoots a nervous glance at Jesse when Will first mentions this practice, but Jesse quickly looks away, already dreading it.
Will, of course, schedules the practice during Friday's social hour, and when Jesse walks in, five minutes late, he sees Rachel seated on the edge of the stage alone, idly swinging her legs so that the sound echoes in the small room.
"Hey," she tries. "I'm glad you're here."
He tries to be nice, but he really can't be. "I'm not the one who really needs to be here," he states shortly.
"I know," she acknowledges. "I don't think he's coming. He doesn't care."
Jesse makes a sound, and then laughs.
"Will you sing with me?"
He does a double take, because she asked so softly that he almost thinks that he made it up.
The song isn't really a duet – it's a sort of soliloquy. They're doing a feminist version of the fairytale classic, and the Beast is singing wistfully to Belle before his transformation, wishing things were different so that she would fall in love with him.
If I could reach the stars I'd pull one down for you
Shine it on my heart so you could see the truth
That this love I have inside is everything it seems
But for now I find it's only in my dreams
That I can change the world
I would be the sunlight in your universe
You will think my love was really something good
Baby if I could change the world
This rehearsal really was for Finn. The only reason Rachel is here for this particular song is to practice her reactions as he sings.
She'll bring the house down if she gives half the performance he's witnessing right now.
If I could be king even for a day
I'd take you as my queen I'd have it no other way
And our love will rule in this kingdom we have made
Till then I'd be a fool wishin' for the day
That I can change the world
I would be the sunlight in your universe
You will think my love was really something good
Baby if I could change the world
In the play, the Beast takes Belle's hand as he shows her his kingdom, and Jesse grabs Rachel's hand, pulling her to her feet as he finishes the last chorus.
He drops her hand on the last line, and Rachel looks down at the floor.
"Metaphors are important, right?" she asks.
Then, in one quick motion, she leans up on her tiptoes and pecks him on the lips.
She giggles as his eyes go wide, and he's staring at her in disbelief. He cannot believe she just did that.
"That was supposed to be your first kiss with Finn," he stutters, feeling stupid, but oddly happy.
She pokes him in the chest and shakes her head. "That was my first kiss with you," she informs him. Then she looks down, unsure. "Have you ever done that before?"
He shakes his head vigorously.
She searches for his hand and brings it to her chest. "My heart is beating really really fast," she tells him seriously.
He keeps his hand there as he leans in again. Their noses bump and they both laugh, but then her lips are against his, and they're kissing (kissing!) again.
"What the hell are you two doing?" they hear someone yell loudly, right before they're being dragged away from each other.
VI.
Her dads giggle about it, and his parents couldn't care less, but the camp isn't thrilled, and the next morning, Jesse is the newest member of the 13-15 age group, with Emma as his counselor. By lunch, everyone in the summer camp has heard what happened, wildly exaggerated of course, and she and Jesse are practically celebrities.
Finn approaches her and actually apologizes to her for missing rehearsal. He asks her if she had really kissed Jesse, if she had allowed him to touch her, and whether she wants to come over and play video games after camp all in the same breath.
She catches a glance of Jesse when she's on her way to the pool. He seems happier somehow in his new group, and Tina is practically hanging off his arm.
At lunch, she peers timidly into the auditorium to find him sitting at the piano.
She skips happily into the room. "I wasn't sure you'd be here," she tells him. "I have something for you."
She presents him with the Beatles' White album. "I thought you would like it. I hope you don't already have a copy." He shakes his head.
"Happy Birthday, Jesse!" she squeals.
"My birthday isn't until next week," he tells her, a quizzical expression marring his face.
"I know," she admits, "But with everything that happened, I didn't know if I'd be seeing you anymore. You seem to like your new group."
He shrugs. His new group is missing a critical element.
"Finn asked me to play video games with him after camp," she says in a rush. "But it's only because I let you do unspeakable things to me in here yesterday." She says it jokingly, her cheeks turning red.
The important words go unsaid: they both ended up getting what they thought they wanted: her Finn, him with the older kids. Funny how it doesn't seem to matter anymore.
"He's not worth it," he tells her, but he can tell she already gets it.
"I know," she states, "But everyone else seems to think so. Is it so wrong to want to pretend for a little while?"
He swallows and looks away.
"You're my first and only best friend," she assures him, "And I couldn't have chosen a better person."
"I'll see you on Broadway," he responds, attempting a smile.
"It's inevitable," she confirms, grinning wickedly.
VII.
He feels the eyes of the audience on him, but, as always, his gaze is always drawn to hers. Today, he can see the pride and love in her eyes, and he will give up anything in the world to ensure that she looks at him just like that for the rest of their lives.
He takes the microphone, feeling oddly nervous and out of place in this particular show.
"Rachel and I are so thrilled that you guys are here to celebrate with us. She informed me that I could not pick such an unconventional song for our first dance without an explanation, so here goes.
I know that most of you are aware that Rachel and I met on Broadway and we've been together ever since, but I don't think that many of you know that we actually met for the first time long ago back at the Westwood summer camp in Ohio. It's a long story, but I sang this song to Rachel at age 12, because I was head over heels for her, and I wanted her to feel the same way about me. It's testament to my immense talent, I'm sure, that she couldn't resist and we had our very first kisses together on stage at that summer camp.
Of course, I'm leaving out the better parts of the story. It was quite the scandal. They called our parents (sorry Leroy and Hiram!) and put us in two separate groups after that. So, I know this song talks about everything that a guy would change to have a girl fall in love with him, but Rachel, honey, all I think every time I hear it, is how I wouldn't change one thing about our path in life if it led me here to marrying you."
If I could reach the stars I'd pull one down for you
Shine it on my heart so you could see the truth
That this love I have inside is everything it seems
But for now I find it's only in my dreams
That I can change the world
I would be the sunlight in your universe
You will think my love was really something good
Baby if I could change the world
If I could be king even for a day
I'd take you as my queen I'd have it no other way
And our love will rule in this kingdom we have made
Till then I'd be a fool wishin' for the day
That I can change the world
I would be the sunlight in your universe
You will think my love was really something good
Baby if I could change the world
Baby if I could change the world
That I can change the world
I would be the sunlight in your universe
You will think my love was really something good
Baby if I could change the world
Baby if I could change the world
Baby if I could change the world