Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. He looked at Rachel. Devastation was apparent on the petite girl's face, but Jesse couldn't help but feel a bit smug.
That's what happens. I told them, that kiss was common and vulgar.
He expected her to turn to him, look him in the eye, say something, offer any kind of closure after her apparent decision. Instead, she was burying her face into Finn's broad chest, his oafish arms enveloping her in a hug. That's when Jesse started to run.
He didn't know where he was going, or why he was running instead of calmly walking away from the competition venue, but he swore to himself that he wasn't going to stop until he was far, far away from there. Far away from Rachel, Finn, and their sorry excuse for a show choir who thought they could waltz into Nationals without having written, much less practiced, any songs. As he reached the sidewalk outside, he suddenly remembered someone else who happened to be competing at Nationals.
Shit. She's going to kill me.
Rushing back inside, he scanned the crowd for the familiar head of curls, until he finally saw her—in a small huddle with her teammates, a huge smile plastered on her face.
"Ella! Hey, Ella!" He jogged over to the younger girl with his showface firmly in place.
"Jesse!" she squealed, throwing her arms around him. "Did you see? We placed! We're in the final ten!" She was bouncing so much that sequins were beginning to fall off of her gaudy, typical show choir dress.
Jesse gave a genuine smile. "That's terrific, Ella. I'm so proud of you."
He hadn't seen his sister since Christmas. She'd been attending a boarding school in California since her freshman year, due to Jesse's urging to get as far away from Vocal Adrenaline as she possibly could—before it was too late.
"I didn't know you were coming! Mom and Dad didn't even come, not like that's much of a surprise, but I definitely didn't expect to see you here!" She was still bouncing up and down.
Jesse's expression darkened. "I didn't expect myself to be here either, honestly. I actually need to talk to you about what's been going on. I've been back in Ohio for the past few weeks—"
"In Akron?" She gave a confused frown. "I know you weren't visiting Carmel. What's there to do in Akron?"
"Not Akron. Lima."
She looked more confused than ever. "Lima? Is Uncle Drew okay?"
"He's fine. Listen, Ella—remember how I told you that last year I transferred for while?"
"Oh my God." she cut him off. He saw her mind turning as she put the pieces together.
"William McKinley High School. I knew it sounded familiar, but I couldn't remember why. That was her wasn't it? Their lead?"
It was apparent that Ella had witnessed The New Directions' performance.
He nodded grimly. "Yeah. That's her."
She threw her arms around him again.
"Jess…I'm so sorry."
He returned her embrace and sighed.
"Want to get out of that hideous dress? Let's grab dinner and I'll catch you up on everything."
A couple hours later, the St. James children were seated at their favorite New York bistro, engrossed in conversation. By the time Jesse was finished recounting everything, Ella was fuming.
"But how could she do that? You told her that she was more important to you than fame! And that other guy can't even sing!" Frustrated, she crossed her arms over her chest.
"It's always been him. I was always just a second choice."
"Stop saying that. She's an idiot if she doesn't want you."
Jesse just shook his head. "I don't know what to do. I failed at college. I failed at winning Rachel back. I failed as a show choir consultant—although that part was really due to them ignoring everything I said. What do I do now?" He looked into his coffee and sighed.
"Jesse…are you seriously asking yourself that? Look around you."
Jesse looked up at her, confused.
She rolled her eyes. "Everything happens for a reason. Fate put you through all of that and left you here—in New York City. This is what you're supposed to do."
He looked at her skeptically. "And what exactly am I supposed to do here? Landing a job on Broadway is hard, Ella."
"Go back to school. Tisch, Julliard—they'd be lucky to have you."
He gave a frustrated sigh. "In case you forgot, I flunked out of UCLA. Do you really think either of those schools is going to accept me as a transfer student?"
"Who said anything about transferring? Take some time off and apply as a freshman in the fall."
Jesse frowned. "Can I even do that?"
Ella shrugged. "I'm not sure, actually. Dad has friends on the admissions boards for both schools, though. You could give them a call and ask."
Jesse smiled at his sister. For a sophomore, she was incredibly wise. "Thank you."
She returned his smile and took a sip of her coffee. "Now—let's talk about what you're going to do in the meantime."
For the entirety of the summer, Jesse worked. He took as many shifts as he could at the local music store in Akron, giving piano lessons to children and working the cash register.
When August rolled around, he placed calls to his father's friends at Julliard and Tisch—and was elated when both told him it was possible for him to apply as an incoming freshman, though they offered no guarantees on his acceptance. Jesse spent night after night for four weeks working on his applications, pouring his heart out into essays and triple checking every piece of information. After much reassurance from Ella, he submitted them and waited. He thought his heart would burst when both schools contacted him to come audition. After much preparation, Jesse poured his soul into both auditions, ultimately performing both of them perfectly.
The first week of April, Jesse was on edge. He had trouble sleeping and could barely eat anything. In the next two weeks, his fate would be decided for him.
Ella had just gotten out of her last class of the day when her phone rang.
"Jesse?"
"I got in! Ella, they accepted me! Both of them!" Ella's mouth dropped open as she listened to Jesse laugh and praise a God that Ella knew he didn't believe in.
"Oh my God!" Ella bounced up in down in the courtyard outside her school building, much like she had done almost a year ago when she had seen Jesse at Nationals.
"Which one are you going to choose?"
"I'm not even thinking about that right now, Ella. All that matters is that I did it! I'm going back to school, and I'm not screwing it up this time. I'm going to make my dreams come true."
Ella laughed. "See, you shouldn't have doubted yourself. It was an inevitability."
With that last word, Jesse's smile faltered. His thoughts immediately snapped to Rachel—the girl he hadn't thought about in almost six months. He had spent much of his time convincing himself that he was over her—it was time to focus on him, on school, on New York. But what was Rachel doing in the fall? He knew it was her dream to move to New York for college, and she'd have no trouble getting into either Julliard or Tisch. No matter which school Jesse chose, he had a 50/50 chance of having Rachel Berry as his classmate next year. He mentally kicked himself for not having seen this coming.
"I'll call you later once I've decided, okay?"
After he said goodbye to his sister, he sighed and sat down on his bed. His entire New York plan was supposed to be about forgetting Rachel and moving on.
An inevitability.
If there was one thing that was inevitable now, it was that Jesse would never escape Rachel Berry.
A/N: This is my first fic, so go easy on me! Next chapter will have plenty of Rachel, and if you're lucky, some St. Berry interaction! ;)