A/N: This is a new multi chapter story I've planned. It's AU after Sectionals S1. The premise is that Carmel Academy is a revered boarding school, which Rachel attends. Obviously St Berry with a lot of OC's too.
Rachel pushed open the ornate doors, dragging her cases into the entrance hall. Her eyes scanned the room, taking in the features, mentally comparing it to the inside of the glossy booklet she held in her hand. She walked over to the desk, offering the receptionist a small smile, trying to hide the feeling of nervousness she felt.
"Hello dear." The receptionist gave her a welcoming smile. "How can I help you?"
"My name's Rachel Berry. I'm starting here today." Rachel replied, handing over her paperwork. The receptionist read it quickly before looking up.
"Ah, hello Rachel. My name's Miss Devaney, I'm in charge of administration." The receptionist introduced herself. She was a fifty something woman, with light brown hair kept in a neat, short style. She wore a long skirt and a blazer, with a patterned blouse and a silk scarf. "I'm afraid your greeter has sent a message with the news that she's sick, so we'll have to find-" She stopped, looking over Rachel's shoulder. "Ah, Jesse. Come over here a moment."
Jesse had been collecting some post when Miss Devaney had called him over. He liked the old woman; she was always nice to him, although admittedly most staff were. Very few people could fault Jesse St James. He was always polite and perfectly charming, with a high intelligence and boyish good looks, and enough talent to get him through life. He was the schools golden boy; and as head boy, he was treated like a member of the faculty.
"Oh my God, you're Jesse St James. You're in Vocal Adrenaline." Jesse turned his attention to the small brunette that stood by the desk. He'd known she was familiar, but it wasn't until he got a good look at her, and her mention of show choir that he realised how so.
"And you're Rachel Berry." Jesse stated. "I saw you perform at Sectionals. Your rendition of Don't Rain on my Parade was flawed; it lacked Barbra's emotional depth. But you're talented." He wasn't sure where the backhanded compliment had come from, but he had been mesmerized by her voice those few weeks ago.
Rachel just stared at him agape; she knew all about him. The star of the best Glee club nationally, he was practically celebrity in the show choir world. He gave her a signature smirk before turning back to Miss Devaney, who had been watching the exchange with a small smile.
"What do you need me for Miss?" He asked politely, giving her a winning smile.
"Rachel is lacking a greeter." The receptionist told him. "Your friend Andrea was supposed to do it, but word reached us that she's ill." Jesse snorted lightly, wondering whom she had managed to entice into her bedroom at the moment in time.
"I take it you would like me to act as greeter then?" Jesse clarified.
"If you could." Miss Devaney said with a small nod. "I know usually the greeters are of the same gender, but if you can't be trusted then who can?"
Jesse gave her another smile as an answer before looking to Rachel.
"How about we take a spin?" He suggested, nodding towards the piano that was sitting against the wall.
"Here?" Rachel asked, a little surprised. She looked around at the various people gathered, just going about their jobs.
"Of course now." Jesse replied. "You don't mind if we sing a song, do you Miss?" He asked Miss Devaney. The receptionist tried to suppress a grin.
"Go ahead! I'm used to your impromptu concerts." She answered with a fond smile, already excited at the prospect of hearing another song by Jesse St James. It was always an honour to hear him sing.
Jesse smiled at the receptionist, then grabbed Rachel's hand and dragged her over to the piano. She was a little taken aback at the sudden contact, but she mentally shook herself, reminding herself that it meant nothing, and that she'd only just met the boy. Both Rachel and Jesse chose to ignore the slight spark they felt when their skin touched.
Picking up a random book, Jesse sat down as he flicked through searching for a song. He landed on a page and smiled, propping the book up on the stand.
"Hello." He announced. "How appropriate."
"Lionel Richie huh?" Rachel asked, slightly bemused at his dated choice.
"One of my favourites." Jesse replied as he began playing. His fingers danced expertly over the keys; he barely had to look at the music or the keys.
Then he began to sing. Rachel's mouth opened in shock. His voice was beautiful. It was so perfectly trained, but you could tell it was mainly pure talent. It was so pure, and the sound sent shivers down Rachel's spine. She closed her eyes as she joined in, praying their voices would sound good together, and that her nerves and the way his voice affected her wouldn't throw off her pitch.
Jesse watched the girl's reaction carefully, noting when the well taught show face took place from her shock. He also noted her closed eyes, but he forgot to pay attention once she started singing. He knew at the moment, as she joined in with him, that he had met his equal in his talent. He'd never met anyone who could keep up with him as well; sure Haylee had always been good, but Rachel had the best voice he'd heard in a long time. A voice that matched his.
The workers in the office all stopped shuffling paper to listen to the pair sing. Miss Devaney had seen many of Jesse's performances (she was somewhat a fan of his) but she'd never seen him put such raw emotion into a performance. When they finished, they got a large round of applause considering the smallness of the crowd. Jesse smiled and nodded his thanks whilst Rachel blushed, trying to hide her grin.
"We should do this more often." Jesse smirked at her, pulling her up from the piano stall. "I assume you're going to try out for Vocal Adrenaline?"
"That's the plan." Rachel replied, as they picked up her paperwork and began to walk towards her room. Jesse had released her hand, but he still walked close to her.
"Well, it's not easy to get a spot." Jesse told her. "But let's hope you do. That duet really was something."
Rachel smiled, taking this as a compliment, although how much her meant about her talent and not his she wasn't sure.
"So, what level are you on?" Jesse asked Rachel, who frowned in confusion.
"Level? What do you mean?"
"Which floor in your dorm." Jesse simplified it.
"Oh." Rachel said, peering at the piece of paper. "Top floor."
"Oh good." Jesse smiled. "I'm on that floor. But over in the boys dorm obviously. Would you like me to explain the accommodation arrangements?"
"Please do." Rachel nodded, looking up at him with a small smile.
"Okay, so there are two dorms, boys and girls." Jesse began, pointing to the blocks as they exited the entrance hall into the grounds. "In each dorm there are three floors, and on each floor there are eight rooms, which each hold two people. Two rooms on every floor are dedicated to each school year, so in total there will be 12 boys and 12 girls in one school year, split over their separate floors. Got that?"
"Just about." Rachel was frowning in concentration.
"Good. So, when it comes to sporting events, or house points, etcetera, we split into levels. Those on the top floor are one team, the middle and the bottom floors make up the two others. Each floor has a different teacher assigned to it; registration is with your floor and that teacher. Ours is Miss Corcoran, you'll meet her Monday. You're generally loyal to your level; you make friends with them primarily, even though your classes are done with your year. The friendship groups are very mixed, age and gender doesn't really matter." Jesse explained.
"Miss Corcoran is the coach of Vocal Adrenaline, isn't she?" Rachel questioned.
"That's right." Jesse smiled. She'd obviously done her research. "She's also the Drama teacher, and she does a bit of English too."
"Okay. So how are the rooms sorted?" Rachel asked.
"Good question. They're generally done by age, but they also try to match personality too. Because you're joining late, you'll be replacing someone that left, although if the only space was with a girl who loved judo and water sports, obviously they'd do a bit of swapping around until they found someone who matched you." Jesse answered as they neared the girl's dormitory.
"Got it. Do you know who I'm with? I'm in room 22." Rachel told him as she checked the paper.
"Haylee's room." Jesse grinned. "That's really good. Haylee's one of my best friends, there's not anyone in this school who dislikes her. She's in Vocal Adrenaline, she sings opposite me, and she's your year too." Jesse pushed the door open. "After you."
"Thank you." Rachel said as she entered the dorm. In the middle of the building was a huge, wooden staircase, with an old fashioned looking carpet running up it. To the left and right there were long corridors, with doors off each side. The building looked like an old English house, maybe from the 1800's. Rachel's mouth was agape as she stared around.
"Oh, St James!" A skinny, mixed raced girl got up from her perch on the bottom step, where she'd been sitting talking to a girl with a short, blonde bob. "Wondered where you'd got to. Whose the new girl?" She asked as she took notice of Rachel.
"This is Rachel." Jesse gestured to her. "Rachel, this is Andrea Cohen. She was supposed to be your greeter until she called in 'sick'." He said, raising his hands to make sarcastic speech marks, whilst Andrea just smirked at him.
"It was Charlie McParlin!" Andrea protested, assuming Jesse had worked out her reason for skipping her job as greeter. "I wasn't going to turn him down, was I?"
"A make out session with a guy is not a reason to neglect your duties to the school." Jesse chastised jokingly, receiving a slap on the arm from Andrea. "Anyway, I don't think we could trust you with a new student. You'd probably get them lost purposely again."
"It's a test of spirit and initiative. Anyway, the last girl didn't come out of the woods too scared. Sure, she was a little frightened, but there wasn't a scratch on her. Or at least, no lasting scars." Andrea replied, and Rachel paled slightly.
"Whatever you say." Jesse smirked again. Andrea was one of his close friends; she, along with Haylee, was part of the group that he hung out with. He made allowances for her slightly bonkers personality. Jesse turned back to Rachel. "Shall we go to your room now?"
"Already trying to get her to take you to her room?" Andrea asked with a smirk. It was the Carmel was of saying things, the same way some people say 'getting off with' or other synonyms. Jesse just rolled his eyes, choosing to ignore her.
"Okay." Rachel told Jesse, not understanding Andrea's comment so just ignoring it. She gave Andrea a tentative smile as she and Jesse walked towards the stairs. They ascended the staircase in silence, Rachel taking in the room, Jesse watching her. She caught him looking and Jesse just gave her a smile in response.
Once they reached the top floor, Jesse led her right to the second door on that side. He knocked on the shiny wood, that had somehow defied the signs of aging, and the door was opened by a girl with red, curly hair. Height wise, she was between Rachel and Jesse, and she had pale, freckled skin, a sweet smile and a very pretty face.
"Hey Jesse." She gave her a friend a grin. "And hi, you must be Rachel. I'm Haylee." She extended her hand to Rachel, who shook it. "Well, come in then! It's your room too, after all!"
Rachel stepped into the room, and Jesse followed. The room extended to the left of where Rachel was in front of the door. Directly ahead of her was a door leading into a bathroom, and to her left was a sofa, which was facing a flat screen television on the right hand wall, which could swivel around to face wherever it was needed. In the space next to where the bathroom wall was, were two beds with a cabinet in the middle, opposite of which were two ornate looking wardrobes. Rachel's suitcases were on the left hand side bed, the one closest to the wall of the bathroom.
"This is my side." Haylee gestured to the wall on the far left, by her bed, where she'd decorated it. "Cover your wall however you like." She smiled, before turning back to Jesse. "Did you go over the vocals for that duet?" She asked him.
"Of course. What do you expect of me?" Jesse smirked and Haylee just shrugged at him. "Shall I leave you two to get acquainted? I'll be back in say, half an hour, then I can continue showing you around Rachel?"
Rachel smiled and nodded. "That sounds good." She liked the idea of spending time with him. Even though she'd only known him a few minutes, she already felt intrigued by him.
"See you then." He smiled at her. "And Haylee, don't let the others in. I think she needs a bit of preparation before she meets the rest of our friends. Especially Harry."
Haylee laughed. "Who would've thought you'd be considered the easiest to get on with in our group."
Jesse smirked and raised his hand in a wave as he exited the room, leaving Rachel to get used to her new room. Looking around, she had a feeling she was going to like Carmel.
A/N: Tell me what you think (eg. If I should continue). Next chapter we'll hear more about Haylee and meet the rest of Jesse's friends.
P.S. Andrea Cohen is the girl in the Pilot, the one being sick, and Haylee is the girl who sung with Jesse in Highway To Hell and Bohemian Rhapsody. Another of the OC's is based on a member of canon VA, but I'll tell you who later.
Review please!