"I forgot how stale these breadsticks are."
Rachel and Jesse were on a date at Breadsticks. It was a week after Sectionals and…well, things escalated from there. They texted each other and finally, Jesse asked her out again.
Rachel chuckled at the comment. "Yeah. You know, I actually saw two kids having a swordfight with them a few years ago. Their mom filmed the whole thing."
Jesse laughed. "I would have loved to see that! I actually saw someone use a breadstick as a sex toy in the bathroom- by accident!"
Rachel looked disgusted and put her uneaten breadstick back in the basket, and cleared her throat. "So, when do rehearsals for the play start?"
"In three weeks." Jesse replied. "I'm assuming you're staying here until you win Nationals."
"You assume correct." Rachel smiled. She stared intently at Jesse. Over the last couple of weeks, she noticed a certain maturity about the Vocal Adrenaline alum/coach. All those old feelings she felt for her former boyfriend returned. "Look, Jesse…just so I'm not overreacting…um…what exactly do you want to happen with us?"
Jesse shrugged. "I still have feelings for you, to be honest. But, I'm also not expecting you to jump into my arms again. I'll let you decide."
Rachel blushed lightly. "Well, I do like this new you. I'm willing to give you a third chance."
"Great!"
"However, however…" Rachel raised a hand. "This is also your last chance. Make it count."
Jesse smiled. "I will."
Unbeknownst to the two, Tina Cohen-Chang was sitting five tables over with Artie. She snapped a photo of Rachel and Jesse and sent it to Kurt with the text: "St. Berry 3.0 is on".
XXX
The following Monday morning, Rachel got a text from Kurt asking her to meet him in the choir room. When she got there, not only was Kurt there, but also Tina, Artie, Santana, Mercedes, Sam, Quinn, Brittany, and Puck.
"Hey, guys! What's the occasion?" Rachel asked looking around. "And where's Blaine?"
"Blaine is helping Mr. Schue coach the kids in the auditorium." Kurt explained. "This is an intervention."
"Kurt, I already decided I'm going back to school. Isn't that what you wanted for me?" Rachel asked, taken aback.
"This isn't about that." Kurt replied. "Tina saw you with a certain egg-throwing, power-hungry Broadway wannabe at Breadstix on Friday."
Rachel exhaled slowly. "Look, I was going to tell you."
"And we were going to ask you…are you completely insane?" Mercedes jumped in. "Why the hell would you take him back after everything he's done to you?"
"That was years ago, okay? He's changed!" Rachel exclaimed. "People change all the time!"
"Really? So, he's stopped insulting people left and right?" Santana asked.
"You know what, Santana, you can take that sanctimony and shove it up your ass." Rachel turned to glare at her.
"Hey, at least the people I insult aren't related to Brittany!" Santana exclaimed.
"…Jesse didn't insult my family." Rachel said.
"Yeah, I think it was mostly her friends he insulted." Brittany supplied helpfully. "Us."
Rachel smiled and nodded. "He really is sorry about that, by the way."
"Sorry, but, until he apologizes himself sincerely, I'm not buying it." Quinn replied.
"So, you chose to be with someone who not only treated you and your friends like crap…" Puck started. "who also viciously hated your dead ex-fiance?"
"Oh. So is that what this is about?" Rachel asked in dismay. "What do you want me to do? Be a nun for the rest of my life because the man I was so in love with is gone?"
"No. Just don't choose someone who treated you or your friends like crap." Kurt replied. "If he did it once, he can do it again."
"What about Blaine, Kurt? He cheated on you. He won't do that again?" Rachel pointed out.
"Blaine was remorseful about that." Kurt explained. "Was Jesse?"
"Yes! I just told you he was!" Rachel argued. "Look, we gave each other plenty of chances. Why can't you give Jesse one more chance?"
"Because we hate his guts." Tina replied.
"So? I hate Santana's guts, but I still give her plenty of chances." Rachel shrugged.
"Love you too, bitch." Santana replied, glaring at Rachel.
Ignoring Santana, Kurt went on. "Look…we are just concerned. Aside from Sam and Finn, your taste in men have been kind of…not great. I mean, Brody was a prostitute, and Jesse…well, need we say more?"
Rachel was appalled and slightly amused. She put her hands on her hips. "Speaking of awful tastes in men. How old was Walter again?"
"Age doesn't equal awful, sweetheart." Kurt smirked.
"Really? Does being kicked out of a glee club by your ex-boyfriend when he found out you're engaged equal awful?" Rachel raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, please. That was small potatoes compared to what Jesse did to you." Kurt rolled his eyes.
"Hmm. I guess that's true." Rachel stroked her chin. "Jesse has done worse. But then again, he never drugged, assaulted, tied up, or robbed me."
Kurt's eyes flashed with anger. He took a couple of deep breaths, nodded, and smiled in spite of himself. "I hope you get exactly what you deserve." With that, he stormed out and slammed the door.
Santana scoffed lightly. "Wow. You know, I take that back, Yentl. You and Simon Cowell over there are perfect for each other."
Rachel sighed and shook her head. "I'm not giving up on Jesse. He's a good man, now. And if you spent five minutes with him, you'll know."
XXX
Later, Rachel walked into the auditorium. Rehearsal was over, but Blaine was at the piano, gathering up the sheet music.
"Hey." Rachel greeted.
Blaine glanced up at Rachel. "Hey."
"Where's Kurt?"
"At his dad's shop." Blaine replied, tapping the pile of papers on the piano so they evenly match.
"Oh." She nodded.
"He was very upset after that intervention." Blaine responded. Rachel looked away, guiltily. "You wanna tell me why?"
Rachel blew her bangs from her forehead. "I may have said something to him that set him off. I'm sorry."
Blaine turned to her. "Oh, don't apologize to me. I think you should talk to Kurt."
"I will." Rachel promised.
Blaine folded his arms. "He also told me what you said."
Rachel looked slightly surprised, then nodded. "Yeah. That wasn't my proudest moment. Nor was…" She exhaled sharply. "I mean, come on. I was naïve- we all were, even Santana with her Mexican Third Eye. I guess helium and rum are her Kryptonite. And he didn't seem like a robber or a rapist when we met him. But then I guess they never do."
Blaine was confused, then horrified. "Wait, what?"
Rachel felt her stomach sink and shivers ran up and down her spine. 'Crap. He didn't mention that, did he?' She quickly thought up a lie. "You know, I must have a few things mixed up. Um…it was actually Santana who was attacked that night. Not Kurt."
"Attacked? When?" Blaine asked, shocked.
"Um…just a few weeks before Christmas of 2012." Rachel nodded.
Blaine nodded sympathetically. "Poor Santana. Wait…I saw her on Valentine's Day. She didn't look…like…I don't know…a rape victim."
Rachel shrugged. "Some people are just that good at hiding it, I guess. Look at her homosexuality. I grew up with two dads, and I had no idea Santana was gay until she and Brittany announced they were dating!"
"I guess that's true." Blaine replied.
"Look, Blaine, not even Brittany knows about that night, so…will you please forget we ever had this conversation?" Rachel pleaded.
"Of course." Blaine promised.
"Thank you."
"Let's change the subject." Blaine suggested.
"Great idea!" Rachel exclaimed, relieved.
"So…Jesse St. James." Blaine folded his arms and leaned against the piano.
Rachel shrugged and bit back a groan of dread. "Yes. We're back together."
"Okay. I barely know Jesse, but, from what Kurt, Sam, and Finn have told me about him, do you really think taking him back is a good idea?" Blaine asked.
"Seriously? Blaine, you are the last person on a long list to give me a lecture about dating someone who once treated people like crap!" Rachel exclaimed angrily. "Does the name Karofsky mean anything to you?" Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Karofsky did way worse than what Jesse did to me, and you still dated him! For God's sake, Blaine. He mouth-raped Kurt!"
"I know. But David apologized for that, and he regrets it." Blaine explained. "He is a very different man now than he was in high school."
"So. Is. Jesse." Rachel said through gritted teeth.
Blaine held his hands up in surrender. "Okay, good point. I guess I have no leg to stand on in this argument."
Rachel smiled in relief and triumph. Finally someone is (almost) in her corner! "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Blaine replied. "Have you told your dads?"
"Yeah." Rachel's shoulders slumped. "It was not a good experience."
"Why? What happened?"
FLASHBACK
"Dads…I've been seeing someone." Rachel smiled.
"Oh, we know, Baby. Sam Evans, right?" LeRoy asked.
"Actually, he and I broke up a few weeks ago." Rachel shrugged. "But, I ran into an old flame."
"Please, God, not the prostitute." Hiram said, looking upward.
Rachel rolled her eyes. "No, it's not Brody."
Hiram breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness. Whew!"
"It's Jesse St. James." Rachel smiled.
Hiram stared at his daughter as if she grew a second head. "What?!"
"Okay, I know he wasn't the best person to be around in high school, but he's changed!" Rachel exclaimed.
"Are you a complete idiot, Rachel? How could you after what he's done to you?" Hiram thundered.
"And that's when all hell broke loose." Rachel nodded sadly. "LeRoy defended me, of course- and even Jesse. That's when I found out that my dads divorced over my quitting school, then Broadway. Hiram…really didn't like that I gave up on my dreams so easily."
"But you're going back to school! Doesn't that count for something?" Blaine exclaimed, aghast.
"You would think." Rachel shrugged. She chuckled. "Can you imagine if I were five years younger? Imagine the custody battle."
Blaine laughed. "You'd probably end up with Shelby or in foster care."
Rachel laughed, too. "Yeah."
"I guess I kind of know how you feel." Blaine admitted. "My dad didn't like the idea of me and Dave, or me and Kurt."
Rachel did a double-take. "Kurt?! I mean, yeah, he is…reserved a-and selfish sometimes, but…really?"
Blaine's eyes darkened. "Apparently, he thought that I was throwing my life away for some guy. My mom and I defended him, of course. Even Cooper defended Kurt."
"Well, that's good." Rachel smiled.
"Can I give you some advice? And I speak from experience." Blaine asked.
"Of course."
"Don't let anyone tell you someone is wrong for you if you don't think he is." Blaine said.
"…That is, unless of course he's abusive or a criminal." Rachel added.
"Oh yeah, that."
Rachel chuckled. "Blaine, I love you, but I think you should leave the advice-giving to Kurt."
"Hey, I'm a good advice-giver!" Blaine exclaimed, offended.
"Uh…really? 'Cause if I remember correctly, you told Kurt to confront his bully, and then said bully proceeded to mouth-rape him." Rachel stated.
"Ooh, wow. One time." Blaine rolled his eyes.
"And then, you told him next time to have backup and do it in a more public place, and then Karofsky threatened to kill Kurt." Rachel went on.
"I was fifteen! Legally stupid!" Blaine exclaimed in defense.
Rachel chuckled. "Okay, whatever."
"For what it's worth, I really do hope you're right about Jesse." Blaine replied.
"Thank you." Rachel stood, cupped his face in her hands and kissed his forehead.
"Sure." Blaine stood up. "I need to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back."
"Okay." Rachel watched him walk off and sat at the piano. She heard Blaine's phone buzz and thought it was a call. She froze in horror as it was a text message from Sam.
'Dude, did u kno Kurt was raped one Christmas of our senior year?'
Rachel looked around to make sure Blaine wasn't coming back, and broke into his phone. She wanted to delete that one text, but there was no way to without deleting the whole conversation. She huffed in frustration. 'Well, that's fine. Text conversations disappear all the time, right?' She deleted the conversation.
"What are you doing?!"
Rachel jumped, startled, and turned around to see Kurt walking towards her, folding his arms. She sighed. "Sam sent Blaine a text message asking if he knows what happened to you that one night. I just deleted the conversation so Blaine wouldn't see it."
Kurt scoffed and shook his head, angry at Sam. Then he turned to Rachel. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Rachel set Blaine's phone down and stood up. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to smack Sam silly." She turned around and stopped when she saw Blaine.
"Uh-oh. What'd Sam do now?" Blaine asked, slightly amused.
"Revealed a secret." Rachel said simply. "Excuse me."
Blaine watched Rachel leave, then turned to Kurt. "So, what secret did Sam reveal?"
"If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret." Kurt winked.
"Hmm." Blaine folded his arms and smiled. "Aren't husbands supposed to tell each other everything?"
"If it's any of their business, yes." Kurt snapped back. He caught himself. "I'm sorry. If I could tell you, I would."
Blaine sighed and nodded. "I think I already know." Kurt froze. "It's about Santana, isn't it?"
Kurt was confused. "Santana?"
"That December night my senior year? You guys invited a stranger over, and…" Blaine cleared his throat. "He…attacked Santana."
Kurt felt relief wash over him and nodded. "Yeah. That's not something any of us want to remember, so…don't bring it up, please."
"Okay. Sorry." Blaine held up his hands. "So, I talked to Rachel about Jesse. She's determined to prove that he's changed."
Kurt scoffed and shook his head. "The only thing that's changed is his hair."
Blaine laughed softly. "Also…she could use all the support she can get. Her dad Hiram was less than supportive."
"What?" Kurt asked in disbelief and shook his head. "That bastard. Okay. Fine. Maybe Jesse is a different person. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to keep a very close eye on him."
"I wouldn't expect anything less." Blaine answered. "Jesse better watch out."
"Yeah, really."
Well, what do you think so far?