A/N: This is about two weeks in the making. Finally hunkered down and finished it. Hope you like!

So They Say

With Finn cutting off all communication and the knowledge that Brody and Cassandra were doing the horizontal mambo, Rachel wasn't up for more than a sappy chick-flick-night with pizza and ice cream. After facing Blaine, Kurt wasn't up for much more either, but he had the unflappable notion that they should be out and about on a Friday night.

"We're young. We're alive. We're a solid B + in the looks department. We should not be home alone on a Friday night in sweats watching movies."

She tried to flap the unflappable notion. Really, she did try. She went on about how they would only bring the crowd down. The night would drag. They'd be praying for midnight to come, only to be roped into staying out later with whatever group they met up with.

"Maybe that's what we need," Kurt had said, voice emphatic. "Someone needs to rope us into getting over our mopefest. Because I'm sick of it. I'm sick of missing Blaine. I think about him all the time and when I'm not, I'm actively thinking about how I'm not thinking about him. I'm sick of this feeling, Rachel. Aren't you?"

And she was. It was exhausting to miss one person, if not two. So, she agreed to go out. She put on one of the outfits she had bought with Kurt the weekend before, pulled her hair up into a messy-chic bun, and prepared herself to whatever they were about to get roped into.

They ended up at Callbacks – NYADA's Friday stomping ground. She was initially worried that she would run into Brody, but when her senses acclimated to the bar – the dim lighting and dank smell of beer and nachos – she told herself to relax.

"You're doing the face," Kurt said, glacing at her.

"What face?"

"The one where you're giving yourself an inner peptalk."

"Is it really that obvious?"

"The Rocky Theme song might as well be playing," Kurt deadpanned.

"I'm nervous," she admitted, crossing her arms over her chest. "I mean, what if I see him?"

"You'll say hi and act like nothing happened."

"But something did happen," she pressed. "Which I know. But he doesn't know I know. Or maybe he does. I wouldn't put it past her to tell him I called."

Kurt put his hands on Rachel's shoulders and said, "You will be fine. I will be right next to you, like you were when we went back to McKinley, and everything will be perfectly fine." Something caught Kurt's attention over her shoulder and he said, "Or maybe not."

She turned around and gasped when she saw Jesse St. James standing on the little makeshift stage.

"In all the gin joints in all the world…" Kurt said in a low voice.

"What is he doing here?" Rachel asked, her cheeks flushing. "I thought he was the coach at Caramel still."

She watched him walk over to the pianist and say something to him. He walked back to the microphone, his hand circling the stand.

"Maybe he's just in for the weekend?"

The pianist began to play and Rachel frowned when she recognized the song. Moving Too Fast from The Last Five Years – it was one of her favorites and she knew immediately it suited his voice perfectly. Sure enough, he began singing and his voice was like warm honey.

"Wow, that guy's good," Brody said, stepping beside her. Her breath hitched and she glanced up at him. His attention was on the stage, something in his jaw twitching as Jesse sang. She knew the look well – the alpha being challenged. She would be the same if a girl better than her were up there.

"He's not a student is he?" Brody asked.

"No, I don't think so," Rachel said. Her stomach twisted uncomfortably, and wondered which exact man was the cause. Jesse hit a high note and her stomach twisted further.

"Damn," Brody said, shaking his head. "So, you want to sing something up there?"

"Sure, uh, pick the song."

Brody looked at her strangely. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be fine?"

"Alright. You're just acting strange."

"I'm fine," she repeated. "Just some pre-performance nerves."

He grinned, slipping his arm around her shoulders. He gave her a quick squeeze and said, "Alright, now you're being ridiculous."

She laughed uncomfortably, shrugging from his arm. "Yeah, I guess. Hey Kurt, want to get a drink?"

Kurt nodded. "Yeah. Sure."

Jesse was near the end of the song and Rachel told Brody, "You head up there when he's finished. I'll meet you up there."

She walked with Kurt toward the bar and he asked, "So, about what level freak-out are we dealing with here?"

"I'm not freaking out," Rachel said slowly. She rested her arms on the bar and leaned forward, grabbing the bartender's attention. "Definitely not freaking out."

"Okay, so about a level seven," Kurt said. "Think you can go up there?"

"That's the one place I can always go," Rachel said.

"With him? And the other him? You know, there really are too many hims in your life, Rachel."

"You're telling me," she said, giving him a look. The bartender came over and she ordered an amaretto sour virgin for herself and a virgin cosmo for Kurt. The bartender came up with them just as Jesse finished his song and the room erupted in applause.

"That's the most applause I've heard here," Kurt noted.

They walked back toward the stage and Rachel sipped on her drink with earnest. Kurt glanced at her and asked, "Wishing it wasn't virgin?"

"I'm fine," she said for what felt like the eighth time that night. "I am perfectly fine. I will go up there and sing and everything-"

"Rachel?"

"…will be fine," Rachel finished weakly, turning toward Jesse. He was smiling wide, his eyes taking in her form. She flushed, thinking to herself that his gaze was the only one that made her feel completely bare.

"Jesse, hey."

"You look great. New look, huh?"

"Yeah," she said, laughing a bit. She held out her arms and said, "The new Rachel."

"I like it," he said, nodding appreciatively. "I miss the animal sweaters, though."

She laughed, tucking her chin to her chest. "I still have them. Maybe they'll make a comeback."

"Oh, one can only hope."

She went to say something when Brody's voice cut through the crowd.

"I seem to be short a duet partner. Rachel Berry, are you out there?"

"That's my cue," she said, glancing toward the stage.

Jesse followed her gaze and said, "Let me guess, the new Finn?"

Her eyes darkened and she said, "He's not the new anyone. I have to go up there."

Before he could answer she went up the stage, taking her spot next to Brody. He gave her the microphone and flashed her this sly grin that he always had before performances. She usually returned her own, but this time she turned back toward the audience, her eyes inadvertently finding Jesse's.

I can't win either way, she thought to herself, looking away. The song began and she laughed a bit, looking over at Brody. As conflicted as her feeling might be about him at the moment, she had to admit the guy had good taste in music. And considering the current audience, he ended up being ironic without even trying.

I've paid my dues

Time after time

I've done my sentence, but committed no crime

And bad mistakes, I've made a few

I've had my share of sand kicked in my face

But I've come through

In a rare bit of Callbacks performances, the entire audience joined in for the chorus. She noticed Jesse's mouth did not move. The chorus bled into the next verse and Brody took it. His performance was grittier than it typically was at such a relaxed setting. No doubt brought about by Jesse's performance. She could spot an alpha responding to competition as easily as some could pick out a fake purse.

He looked to her and she joined him at the end of the verse, their voices rising with each word as they rode the lyric. Again the audience took the chorus with them, half of the lyrics wrong as people shouted them out.

She was buzzed from the performance as the last note sounded, her body feeling as if it were on fire. She wondered for a moment if that drink had accidently been a non-virgin, but she knew it was just the rush of being on stage. She could get drunk off the attention and nerves.

"Interesting song choice," Kurt said, falling beside her as she walked back into the audience. Brody was getting the next song ready and she glanced back at him before saying, "Don't blame me. It is sort of funny though, isn't it?"

"Where is he?" she asked, not needing to say who the 'he' was before Kurt answered, "Over by the bar. I believe he's stewing."

"Stewing?"

"He didn't seem to pleased to see another guy sing with you."

"He saw Finn sing with me all the time," she said.

"Yeah, but Brody is not Finn. No offense, but Finn could never match Jesse for vocals. Brody, though…"

"He's threatened," Rachel said, laughing a bit.

"And probably a little wounded," he said. "You were good up there, Rach. You used to only be that good with him."

Rachel was about to argue that she was good enough on her own, but when she thought about it he was right. She always was just a little better when there was someone else there to play off of. She felt it with Finn, but it had always been something special with her and Jesse. He challenged her and made her push boundaries that she never imagined crossing. When she thought about it, that was exactly what Brody had done for her in the past few months.

"So, tell me," Jesse began, appearing beside her with a drink. He handed it to her without a word and she took it automatically. "Has your aversion to Queen passed? Because you looked pretty good up there singing it."

"My aversion never had anything to do with Queen," she said tartly. "It had to do with the person singing it."

"Ouch," Kurt said, ducking his face down toward his drink as he laughed.

"Rachel, I thought we were past that."

"We would be if you'd stop bringing it up."

Jesse grinned. "Is it possible that you have gotten even more feisty?"

Brody began singing and she turned away from Jesse, crossing her arms tightly over her chest. She watched him sing for a few moments, waiting for the unavoidable St. James commentary.

"So, is this guy at NYADA, too?" he asked.

"Yes, he is. He's a year above me."

Jesse exhaled sharply. "Not saying much for the NYADA crop of talent."

She rolled her eyes. "You know, you can admit that someone besides yourself is good."

"I've told you that you're good," he replied innocently.

"Brody is a talented performer. You just can't stand the reality that someone could be as talented as you."

Jesse laughed. "You think this guy is talented?"

"He is."

"Oh Rachel," Jesse said, arching his back as he stretched. "You always did have a soft spot for stunted talent."

She glared at him. "Did anyone ever tell you that you're kind of difficult to be around sometimes?"

"No. Never."

"Well, let me be the first," she said drily.

Jesse grinned a bit, turning his head back toward the stage. After a few minutes he admitted, "Alright, he's not half bad. That last note there was moderately good."

"I told you."

Brody came off the stage at the end of the song, patting a few arms in greeting as he made his way back to Rachel. He glanced at Jesse for a moment, not bothering to offer a greeting, and then told her about how a bunch of them were going to an underage bar a few subway stops away.

"You guys should come," he said. "It should be fun."

"I don't know," Rachel said, glancing at Kurt. "We were sort of thinking-"

"We're in," Kurt interrupted, nodding excitedly. When Rachel gave him a look he said, "No more mopefest, remember? This is exactly what we need."

"I'm in, too," Jesse said, despite his lack of invitation.

"Cool," Brody said. "I'm Brody, by the way."

"Jesse St. James," Jesse said, extending a hand. "Rachel and I go back a ways."

"Two years," Rachel corrected. "We go back two years."

"Well, we're happy to have you," Brody said, glancing between the two of them. "You guys ready to head out?"

Rachel hated the bar immediately. It was filled with handsy guys and girls in skin-tight dresses. She was there for no more than ten minutes before her bottom was grabbed twice.

"Okay, seriously?" she said, jumping when she felt a third grasp. Just like the other two, the guy was long gone by the time she got around to taking a look. "Kurt, can we please go?"

"Let's stay," Kurt implored. "Please? I really need this."

"No, what you need are some fuzzy socks and Liza Minelli. This looks like a trainwreck."

"Look, I just want to forget for a night, okay?" Kurt said. "Just for a night."

He looked so broken, his eyes droopy and mouth in a tight line. She sighed and grabbed his arm, taking him to the bar.

"Try to look 21," she informed Kurt in a low voice. "You know, like we belong here."

"Okay," he said, nodding.

"What can I get you guys?" the bartender asked.

"A beer," Kurt said, thinking this sounded adult. When the bartender asked what type he sputtered for a few moments before spotting someone with a Bud Lite and he ordered that.

"I'll have the same," Rachel said.

The bartender got them their drinks and they paid. Kurt leaned in close to Rachel and said, "Well, that went well. Look at us with our drinks!"

"Rachel, you're drinking beer?" Jesse said, joining them. "I never would have guessed."

"What do you have?" she asked, glancing at his tumbler of brown liquid.

"Bourbon. You wouldn't like it."

Sensing a challenge she set him with a look and said, "How do you know that?"

"You want to try it?"

He offered it to her and she took it haughtily, her eyes holding his defiantly as she took a sip. She began coughing the moment the liquid touched her throat. She handed it back with a startled look on her face. All the while, Jesse laughed.

"That is completely disgusting!"

"I told you that you wouldn't like it. Should have listened to me."

"It tastes like paint thinner."

"And you know that, from what, your vast experience in ingesting paint thinners?" he mocked lightly.

She was poised to make some barbed return when Brody joined their group, a Blue Moon in his hand.

"This place is pretty great, yeah?" Brody said.

"I like it," Kurt said, taking a hearty sip of his beer. Rachel watched him warily for a moment but then Jesse was saying something irritating again and it took all her control not to jam her elbow into his side. She turned sharply to go and see what songs were available on the jukebox and he followed.

"Now, if that wasn't walking away in a huff…," he began.

"You know, if you're going to crash a group's night you might want to at least try not to be so irritating," she flung back, jabbing at the buttons on the juke box. Jesse watched her continue to assault the jukebox and asked, "What's going on with you?"

"Nothing, I'm fine."

"Something's up. You've always been mouthy but usually not this much. What's going on in that head of yours?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Rachel said. "In fact, I don't want to do anything right now. I want to be in bed. Asleep. But instead I'm here as a third wheel to Kurt and his breakup." She glanced back quickly, worried that Kurt had followed them. Guiltily she looked toward Jesse and said, "I didn't mean that."

"Yes you did," Jesse said. "Him and Blaine broke up?"

She nodded. "It was pretty bad. That entire weekend was pretty bad, really. They broke up. Finn and I basically imploded." She picked at the material of her skirt. "I don't think we can ever go back to what we had."

"Maybe that's for the best."

She shook her head. "Of course you would say that."

"I mean it," he said. "Part of this whole college experience is growing up and moving on. It's finding the person that you're supposed to become and the people who will best help you get there."

"You sound like a motivational poster," she said, smiling slightly.

"And a damn good one," he returned lightly.

"It probably is for the best," she admitted. "At least for now." She took a deep breath, exhaling loudly through her mouth and said, "Anyway, what about you? What are you doing in the Big Apple?"

"I booked my first show," Jesse said with surprising modesty. Rachel's eyes widened and she stammered, "You what? Jesse, that's…that's amazing."

"It's a little theater in Soho," he said. "Definitely off-off-off Broadway, but it's a start."

"It's fantastic," she said truthfully. "You know, I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks. I'm pretty happy myself."

Rachel glanced toward the bar and frowned when she saw Kurt already there for his second beer. It was going to be a long night.

"Hey, we're heading out," Brody said, messily putting his arm around Rachel. They had been at the bar a few hours and most of the group had hit back their fair share of drinks. Rachel stuck with her one, still having a slight aversion to alcohol from her junior year experience at McKinley. Nothing like getting puked on in front of the entire school to make you not want to drink excessively.

"We'll go too," Rachel said, turning her head as she looked for Kurt. She didn't see him anywhere near them in the bar and she pulled away from Brody, making her way through the throngs of people as she searched for Kurt.

Jesse sat at the bar chatting up some blonde, but he excused himself when he saw Rachel making ineffective circles at the center of the room.

"Rachel?"

"Jesse," she said, grabbing his arm. "Have you seen Kurt? We're leaving and I can't find him anywhere."

"I haven't seen him," Jesse said. "When's the last time you saw him?"

"I don't know," Rachel said, her stomach twisting. "He was flitting in and out so much and I really wasn't paying attention. Oh God, he had a lot to drink. He had too much, Jesse. We really need to find him."

"Have you checked the bathroom?"

She shook her head. "No. No, I didn't."

"Alright, you keep looking here and I'll go check in the bathrooms."

She nodded, moving blindly to the side as she embarked on what she was increasingly thinking would be an ineffective sweep of the premises. Her stomach twisted further and she thought to herself that she very possibly lost her drunk best friend in New York.

"I am the worst friend ever," she murmured, eyes filling with tears. She had no right to cry then, but she was so tired and she felt like she would never find Kurt and-

"Rachel, I found him."

She turned around and felt her entire body release when she saw Jesse and a rather disheveled Kurt leaning heavily on his side.

"Oh, thank God," she said, moving forward quickly. She took Kurt's available arm and put it around her shoulders, sliding her arm around his waist.

"Kurt, you scared the crap out of me."

"Too much beer," he slurred. "Beer bad. And fattening. I'm gonna get fat. Really fat. And then Blaine will never want me again."

"I think it's time to call it a night," Jesse said. "Come on, I'll get you guys a cab out front."

"Thank you," Rachel said. She rubbed Kurt's back and said, "Hear that, Kurt? We're going home."

"Home. Home is good. Home…" he trailed off, his face going white. "I think I'm gonna be sick."

"Ah, to the garbage can," Jesse said hurriedly, half dragging them in that direction before Kurt threw up just before the garbage can. Rachel pushed him forward and he finished in the proper location.

"Well, this might make them rethink their lax policy toward fake IDs," Jesse said.

Rachel gave him a look. "So not the time, Jesse."

When Kurt was finished they managed to get him outside and Jesse flagged them down a cab. Before they got in Jesse asked if there were stairs to their apartment.

"Yeah, but only a flew flights."

Jesse nodded, sliding into the cab after them. Rachel went to refute when he told her, "You really think you can get him up the stairs by yourself?"

She didn't argue. Most of the drive was in silence except for Kurt incoherently muttering things about Blaine and Rachel returning with whatever comforting phrase she could come up with. They got to the apartment and she let Jesse pay without contest. She was grateful to have him there as they navigated the three flights of stairs up to the apartment. As Kurt's feet missed step after step, she imagined her doing this by herself and cringed.

"Here we are," she said in relief when they reached the door. She pulled her key out of her purse and opened the door. Ten minutes later Kurt was in bed, a glass of water next to his bed.

"Make sure he drinks that when he wakes up," Jesse said, standing with Rachel at the front door. "Otherwise, he's going to be in a whole world of pain."

Rachel nodded. "I will."

"And you make sure to not go out with any more emotionally unstable friends. Doesn't seem to turn out too well for you."

She smirked. "No, it doesn't."

"Alright, I'm going to head home. I have a long subway ride ahead of me."

"You should take a taxi," she said immediately. It was late and Jesse wasn't exactly the usual early-morning-subway-clientele.

"I'm not made of money, you know."

"Well then stay here," she said, gesturing back toward the couch. "It's not the most comfortable thing in the world but-"

"I'll be fine," he interrupted with a slight grin. "Thank you for the offer, though. It's more than I expected. Especially since I crashed your group outing and all."

"It wasn't that bad," she admitted.

"Wasn't that bad," Jesse repeated, nodding appreciatively. "I'm surprised to hear you give such a glowing compliment."

"I give them when they're deserved."

She was looking up at him with that look that always made his stomach flip and she felt the familiar heat build in her stomach. She stepped forward and as his hands found the curve of her waist she felt like she had come home. It was a sweet kiss. No real heat behind it, but it was enough. He pulled away first, his eyes bleary.

"Tonight just keeps getting stranger," he murmured.

"That was a thank you," she clarified, clearing her throat.

"Right. Of course it was."

"Good night, Jesse," she said, opening the door behind him. He turned around to leave, and as he walked out he turned back and asked, "So, if I were to get you tickets to my show, what are the odds you'd go?"

She smiled softly. "You know I can never resist an opening night."

He grinned. "Alright then. Goodnight Rachel."

"Night Jesse."

A/N: St. Berry will always be my number one Glee couple. Seriously, how can people not love them? Anyhoo, would love your feedback!