I came up with this idea while watching some episodes from Season 1. As I was thinking, this idea hit me and I just had to write it down. I'm not sure if there is another fanfiction out there like this one, and if there is, I promise you, I came up with idea by myself. In no way was I trying to steal anyone's idea. Basically, I was wondering what it would be like if Shelby hadn't given Rachel up. She would go to Carmel High, be in Vocal Adrenaline, and my guess, be very close to Jesse St. James. This story will go through all of Season 1 and 2. The first chapter takes place during the Pilot episode, where New Directions goes to the invitational that Vocal Adrenaline hosts. I hope you all enjoy! This chapter is entitled 'Only Losers Don't'.

Who in Carmel High hadn't heard of Rachel Berry? Only losers didn't know who she was. At Carmel High, one of Ohio's most prestigious performing arts high schools, Rachel Berry was a star. Being the lead singer of Vocal Adrenaline, the state's five-time regional champion, and daughter of the coach, Shelby Corcoran herself, Rachel Berry was one of the most popular girls at school.

She knew she was talented, she knew she was pretty, and she knew she was well-liked. Rachel Berry had it all. But the day the McKinley High glee club showed up to one of their recitals was the day everything turned upside down.

It all started during rehearsal two days before the recital. She and Jesse were practicing vocal runs when he decided to call a break. Rachel had known Jesse all her life; he only lived a few houses away from her and just so happened to be the male lead.

"You won't believe who bought tickets to our recital." He snickered, taking a seat at the edge of the stage. Rachel's smile grew wide as she took a seat next to him. She'd be foolish to say she didn't have a crush on Jesse St. James; almost every girl at Carmel High did. He was cute, talented…and available.

"Who?" She asked, pushing some of her hair behind her ears. Jesse grinned and leaned closer to her face.

"That McKinley High glee club in Lima." Both of them burst into laughter.

"That loser club?" Rachel scoffed, still laughing. "Boy, are they in for a surprise."

"They'll go home crying once they hear your voice. They'll know they'll never be able to beat it." Rachel blushed as Jesse flashed her one of those irresistible smiles.

"I didn't even know they were still a club." Rachel chuckled. "Wasn't their coach that creepy one? The one who would constantly skip out on class to attend the nearest doll conventions?"

"Supposedly they go themselves a new coach." Jesse grinned mischievously. "He probably won't stick around once he realizes just how doomed his little gang of losers is."

"That is so true." Rachel agreed, giggling. They sat in silence for a few moments before Jesse got to his feet. He grabbed the sheet music and waved it around in the air.

"More motivation to do better." He winked at her and began his part again. Rachel jumped to her feet and joined in with her part, smiling as she thought to herself just how amazingly well her voice sounded with Jesse's.

-glee!-

As they changed into their costumes for the recital, Rachel realized she was missing a shoe. And she new Dakota Stanley would not let her on stage with one shoe, no matter how important her part was or how talented she was. Andrea, a junior in Vocal Adrenaline, passed by Rachel with a smirk on her face.

"Missing something?" She whispered, snickering as she walked away. Rachel clenched her fists together. Andrea probably hid it somewhere. Rachel stormed out of the dressing room and ran straight into Jesse, who was probably off to find his place on stage.

"Whoah, Rachel, is something wrong?" He asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Yes. I can't find my other shoe!" Rachel shook her head in dismay. "If I don't find it, Dakota won't let me onstage, and Vocal Adrenaline will be doomed." Jesse inhaled sharply before shaking his head disapprovingly.

"Don't worry; it's ten minutes before show time. We'll find your shoe." He reassured her.

"You're…going to help me look for it?" Rachel asked disbelievingly, eyes wide.

"I'm going to go onstage, see if it was left there after the dress rehearsal. Then I'll check back with you." Jesse confirmed.

"I'll be somewhere out here." Rachel told him, smiling. Jesse grinned and jogged off to the stage. Rachel sighed and walked away, desperately trying to calm herself down. She made her way to the seating area and watched as many people shuffled to their seats. Rachel gulped; she wasn't one to get nervous, but this was a lot of people. Shelby didn't tell her there would be this many. Rachel shook her head; she couldn't focus on that now. She had to find her shoe. And then she ran into someone else.

"Gosh, I'm sorry." Rachel muttered, stepping back. "I'm just not really paying attention today." She glanced up at the other person. He was tall; taller then any person she had ever seen. Or maybe he just seemed so tall because she was so short. Either way, he was young, probably about her age. He was cute, with his hair mussed in that boyish way. His eyes were a really pretty hazel color.

"Oh, it's okay." He smiled. At a loss for words, Rachel just smiled back at him. "I just found this…over there. I thought maybe it belonged to one of you guys." He lifted up a shoe. Rachel's grin widened.

"My shoe!" She exclaimed. "Oh, you're a lifesaver! Dakota wouldn't have let me onstage if I didn't find this!" The boy laughed as Rachel desperately slipped it on.

"What's your name?" He asked. Once Rachel had managed to put her shoe on, she met his gaze again.

"Rachel." She whispered. His eyes widened.

"As in, Rachel Berry?" He checked. Rachel snorted.

"Of course! How many other Rachel's are in Vocal Adrenaline?" She chuckled. "What's your name?"

"Finn." He replied, grinning.

"Rachel, it wasn't onstage…and I see you found it." Jesse began before glancing at her feet. Rachel blushed. Jesse glanced up at Finn and frowned, wrapping his arm around Rachel's shoulder.

"Who's he?" Jesse asked in an unemotional voice.

"His name is Finn." Rachel uttered, completely shocked by Jesse's gesture. She was pretty sure her cheeks were a bright red right now, but she couldn't help it.

"Well, your show's about to start. I better go sit back down." Finn smiled. "Nice meeting you, Rachel."

"You, too." Rachel replied softly. She watched him leave and felt Jesse tugging her away.

"Not only will Dakota kill us for being late, but of all the people you had to converse with, it had to be him?" Jesse hissed, his grip on Rachel tightening.

"He found my shoe." Rachel protested. "What's so bad about him?" Jesse stopped and gripped Rachel by the shoulders, staring directly into her eyes.

"Since you're only a sophomore and it's your first year on the team, I'll assume you don't know the most important rule of show choir." He paused. "Never, ever, converse with the enemy, no matter how sucky their team is." Rachel gasped.

"He's from McKinley?"

"Of course!" Jesse exclaimed, grabbing Rachel's hand and pulling her onstage. "Why else do you think he'd be here?" They took their places, Rachel ignoring the death glare Dakota was giving them, and waited for the curtain to rise.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Vocal Adrenaline!"

-glee!-

"You were great, Rachel." Shelby praised, glancing proudly at her daughter through the mirror.

"Amazing." Jesse agreed, winking at her. Rachel blushed.

"Thank you." She flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Andrea was going flat, I could hear her. I think she ought to learn to listen to my perfect pitch." Jesse chuckled.

"I'll make sure to tell her that." He grinned. "Ms. Corcoran, is it okay if I stay over at your house for a couple of hours to run through song selections with Rachel?" Rachel blushed; first the arm-around-the-shoulder thing, now this? Did Jesse like her, too?

"Sure." Shelby said, a bit surprised. They pulled into Rachel's driveway. Rachel leapt out of her seat, grabbed the house keys from her mom's hand, unlocked the front door, and darted inside. She checked her hair and make up in her bedroom mirror before spinning around to find Jesse leaning against the doorframe.

"What a wonderful entrance." He praised mockingly. "I'd give it a nine and a half, being as you didn't run inside screaming." Rachel rolled her eyes and shoved him, blushing. Jesse grinned his cocky half-grin before stepping inside and closing the door behind him. He took a seat on her bed and glanced around the room, smiling.

"What?" Rachel asked.

"It's just…I'll miss this place when I go to college." Jesse said sadly. "I practically grew up here, with you." He smiled at her. "I'll miss you, too. You and your drama." Rachel blushed again and took a seat next to him.

"You still have the whole year." She said softly. "You don't need to start getting emotional now." Jesse scoffed.

"You wouldn't be doing this if you were in my shoes?" He asked. She blushed again, turning away. He grinned, satisfied. "Exactly."

"Jesse…" Rachel began. "Do you have a girlfriend?" She asked. She wished she hadn't said that; it sounded so stupid. Why did she act this way around him? She never used to feel awkward around him. She remembered a time when they would laugh and play around without any awkward feeling. Why did that all change in high school?

"No." Jesse smiled at Rachel, leaning closer to her face. "But I have my eye on someone." Her heart began racing.

"Really?" She whispered. "Who?" Jesse chuckled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"You are so naïve, Rachel." He whispered. "One of your best qualities." He paused, sitting back a little. "Tell me, have you gotten your first kiss?" Rachel's eyes widened and she glanced at the floor in surprise.

"I-I'm not one to kiss and tell." She said.

"You haven't." Jesse guessed, still grinning.

"Why does it matter to you?" She asked, standing up and pacing the room. Jesse smiled, watching her pace back and forth.

"I feel strangely attracted to you, Rachel." He admitted, standing up, cupping her face in his hand. She froze, her eyes meeting his. Their beauty captivated her. She couldn't look away. "I don't want you getting hurt."

"Is that why you put your arm around me when I met Finn?" She asked quietly. "To make him jealous so he would leave?" Jesse snorted and pulled away.

"He's on the opposite team." Jesse turned to face her. "It was clear he was trying to seduce you. You are young and naïve, Rachel. This is your first year in Vocal Adrenaline, and because of your amazing talent, you have risen to the top." Jesse paused. "There's a simple rule in show choir: you break the heart of the team, you break the team." Rachel listened to him, nodding her head.

"And without my superior vocals, we would surely lose regionals." Rachel concluded.

"We've won without you before, but it was hard." Jesse admitted. "We're a shoe-in now, because of you." Rachel blushed and took a seat back on her bed. Jesse sat next to her. "And yes, I was trying to protect you."

"They thought they could win by messing with my heart." Rachel whispered.

"Not that they would their sectionals anyways." Jesse added in. "They're a bunch of no-talent losers, Rachel."

"I want to teach them a lesson." She announced, facing Jesse. "And I need you to help me."

Hm, I wonder what lesson Rachel will teach the McKinley High kids? And was Finn trying to seduce Rachel, or was he generally interested in her? And what about Jesse? I can promise you now, he is not an 'evil character'. Jesse is a good guy with good intentions all throughout the story. But will Rachel and Jesse end up together? So many questions with so little answers! I guess you'll just have to read the next chapter to find out! Until next time, review!