Rachel Berry walked into the theatre, with her usual air of I'm-better-than-you-and-we-both-know-it. That's why she was having this meeting with the director and a male lead. To see if they were compatible, because they were the top picks. She confidently rapped at the door with her knuckles. "Come in." The director called.
She opened the door and stepped inside. Her confidence faltered when she saw the back of the head of her future co-star. That cannot be him. The universe wouldn't play that type of trick. Right? As the man in question turned around, she silently cursed. Yes, it would.
"Hello, Ms…" He paused for her to fill in her name. So that's how we're playing it? We don't know each other? We have no past, nothing?
"Berry. Rachel Berry." She shook his hand. "And you-"
She was cut off by the director's impatience. "We do not have much time for pleasantries, I'm afraid. We have to run straight into the scene." Well, I'm screwed. We're supposed love interests and this is him we are talking about.
The director handed them both three printed pages from a script. "Can you memorize these lines in five minutes?" Both nodded. "Alright. I'll be back at 10:20 sharp." And with that, the director left, shutting the door behind him.
Immediately, the soft green-blue eyes of her ex-boyfriend snapped up from the papers to meet hers. "Rachel." He said softly. "You left Lima after all."
"It wasn't for you." She said briskly.
"I deserve that. But tell me you weren't stupid enough to turn down a lead on Broadway out of stubbornness towards me."
She scoffed. As if. "You wish you were important enough for me to do that, Jesse. Why did you pretend not to know me earlier? Surely it'd only help us get the roles?"
"I wanted this to be a fresh start. We can start over, without our history getting in the way. So, Ms. Berry, it's a pleasure to meet you."
She stared at him for what felt like forever. "Okay." She sighed. "You too, Mr. stJames. Now, can we learn this scene so neither of us bomb this audition?"
He started reading aloud from his paper, obviously holding in a smirk as he did so. She resisted the urges to slap him and kiss him. She was pissed, of course, but she also couldn't help but admit he had gotten hotter in the years that they had fallen out of contact. She took a deep breath, attempting to calm both feelings. Slapping and/or kissing my new costar during the audition could cost me the role. Be professional, Rachel Berry. No, be Mimi Marquez. With a dash of Barbra. You've got this. After she centered herself, they flew through the first two pages and were starting on the final page when Rachel objected, "Hell no."
"That's not your line."
"No, it's not, but I wasn't told that we would have to kiss!" I can't kiss him! I won't be able to not miss him anymore! Once I kiss him, he'll probably say something about having a girlfriend or something, and that it's just a role. I know I mean nothing to him now, but I can't bear him saying it!
"Berry, what did you expect from a love story?"
"RENT is not a love story."
"It is at heart. Between Collins and Angel, between Mark and Maureen, Maureen and Joanne, and, last but not least, between Roger and Mimi. Now you're going to have to convince me you can be more like Mimi than Maureen, because that's all I'm seeing right now." He repeated his last line.
She sighed. And then continued. Three more lines tossed back and forth and it was time for the very end. The kiss. She leaned in and pecked him on the lips.
"Come on Berry. We both know you can do better than that." He prompted. Rachel stayed silent. "Whatever. If I don't get this role because of you, I swear that I-"
Whatever he was about to swear about, got cut off by a kiss. Not a simple, lips touching kiss like the previous one. This was a kiss. Her hands flew into his hair, and he held her close.
When they pulled away from one another, the tension would've had to have been cut by a chainsaw. No knife could do it. Awkwardly, they remained in their embrace for a few seconds before hopping backward. Their eyes met. They had both felt it. The knowledge that the feelings weren't gone, just lying dormant.
"I liked your hair longer." Rachel said offhandedly. Jesse laughed, and the tension was gone. They both visibly relaxed.
The calmness only lasted for a second or two before they heard a loud clapping. Rachel flushed pink and tucked some of her hair behind her ear. Jesse ran a hand through his hair in an attempt to fix it and tidy it up. Neither of them could look the director in the eye, so Rachel decided that just over his head was more interesting. Jesse was looking at his ear.
"Bravo!" The director cheered, either not noticing the awkwardness or pretending not to. "That was quite a good scene! I hope you don't mind that I came back a minute early, but that was some real passion. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you two were dating!" He took a few deep breaths. "But before I get ahead of myself, I should probably make sure you can remember your lines, so let's run that scene again!"
Jesse and Rachel exchanged a quick glance. A glance akin to those they had shared at McKinley High, a glance riddled with memories and moments, left behind in Ohio but never forgotten. They started the scene, with no mistakes on either part, a true feat considering neither of them had really read the lines, and when it came to the kiss, the director cut in. "No need to finish the scene, you're both free to go. If you've made the cut, you'll get an email."
He was trying to sound nonchalant, but neither of the actors missed the way he was bouncing on his feet. They thanked him for his time and walked out. Together they stepped out the front door. "Subway?" She asked him.
"I was going to grab a cab," Jesse said simply. "I'll lend you a ride, if you want."
"I live in Bushwick, Jesse. That's an expensive cab."
"Alright. Bye."
"Goodbye," Rachel said, and they both turned to different directions, Jesse towards the street to wave down a taxi, and Rachel down the street to the underground.
Just as she started heading down the stairs, she heard her name called out. She turned around and saw Jesse jogging over. "I'm sorry. For everything. Break a leg."
"Break a leg." She agreed. "And I'm sorry for everything I did." Although it wasn't as bad as the egging.
They just stood there, staring at one another.
Until a New Yorker yelled at them, "Get out of the way and get on with it already!" Jesse chuckled and gestured down the stairs. "I'll take the subway today." He offered as an explanation. She smiled warmly at him.
"It's the true New York way." She joked. He laughed and the two-headed underground, to eventually go their separate ways, but hopefully to be reunited.